


Dancing On The Edge

by urgross



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-28
Updated: 2016-03-13
Packaged: 2018-03-26 05:11:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 47,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3838369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/urgross/pseuds/urgross
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I know a little bit about running away from your friends, your family," and quieter, "your past." <br/>Nico stared at him. "And what have you learned? From all the running, I mean?" <br/>Will stopped walking. "You can only do two things," he held up two fingers. "You can confront the thing that's chasing you or do the stupid thing," he looked Nico in the eyes, "and keep on running."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Breakeven/ Laughter Lines

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, it's the author here. This is a solangelo story more or less and it shouldn't be too sad or dark or anything. If it gets to be that way I'll warn you. This story is already posted on fanfiction.net so you can read it there as well. I'm just posting it on here because I was asked. Also I'm sorry if this story causes any tears, laughs, smiles or any thoughts of anger towards the author (me) or the characters. We are very unpredictable. Enjoy :)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one in which Leo drinks and Nico reminisces.

Nico slipped the golden key in the lock and twisted, the quiet light from above reflecting off of it as he pushed the door ajar into his apartment. Well, their apartment.

"Leo?" Nico called through, his voice soft and low, filling the small apartment with ease. He heard a shuffle and a thud from the kitchen and immediately Nico's head turned towards the sound. He effortlessly rolled his eyes and closed the door, locking all three deadbolts and dropping his dance bag on the ground at his feet. He pocketed the keys and headed over to the kitchen to see what Leo had gotten himself into.

Once he crossed the threshold, he was met with a godsent smell. Roasted onions, cheese, peppers and heaven filled his nose and Nico groaned. He spotted Leo across the kitchen, his back to him, bent over a pan. On the small wooden table were piles of unopened mail and two sad chairs sat around it. The fridge, which was covered in various magnets and pictures, was right next to the stove, which looked like it was sinking into the floor. Nico cleared his throat and leaned on the door frame, arms crossing in front of his skinny chest.

Leo's head quirked up, the messy curls bouncing around and he turned, grinning at Nico.

"You're home!" he said excitingly, turning his back to the flame. Nico perked up at the movement as his mother's words were already leaving his mouth.

"Never turn your back on an open flame," he scolded, shaking his head and stepping farther into the kitchen. Leo's grin grew higher on his face as he turned around and started to put whatever was in the pan on two plates. Nico groaned again. "God, what is that?"

"Mama Valdez's famous quesadillas, that's what!" Leo glanced at Nico. "I hope you're hungry." Nico's butt was in the chair almost immediately after Leo finished his sentence.

Leo turned around with the plates in hand and went to the table and sat across from Nico. He shoved a plate in front of Nico's face while putting his own down and then reached over the table for Nico's hands. Nico shrugged and grabbed Leo's hands, begrudgingly and stared at Leo.

Leo smiled and proceeded to close his eyes. Nico did the same.

"Dear, God. Thank you for this day, for although it may not have been as amazing to me, it was amazing to someone, Lord. Thank you for the leaking roof above our heads and the old shirts on our backs, for we both know that we've come a long way. Please bless those children who were like us; that didn't have a home. Bless them, with all your might that they may come to know you, and come to know themselves. Thank you for this food that I have awesomely prepared for Nico's and my consumption for we are very hungry. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Nico opened his eyes to a thoughtful looking Leo. Nico peeled away his hands and let them fall into his lap.

"Good prayer, Leo," he said quietly. Leo's eyes snapped towards Nico's and he smiled.

"Well, dig in," he said motioning towards the food. Everything left Nico's eyes all at once as his eyes settled on the steaming food in front of him. His mouth started watering as he stared at the cheesy, peppery goodness on his plate.

In less than three minutes, they were both getting seconds. As Leo sat down, he looked at Nico.

"So, how was your practice?" Leo asked, cautiously. Nico shrugged as he chewed.

How was practice going? They had just finished performing an amazing version of the nutcracker, which the people in this city absolutely loved. But now, they're director, Chiron, was coming up with a new idea, most likely involving two male leads.

Chiron had told him earlier that day, that he was thinking of something a little more risque, a little more tasteful, and that he would love if Nico could be one of the leads in the dance.

Nico had asked what type of dance it was going to be, ie. hip hop or ballet or modern and Chiron had smirked and hushed him, telling Nico that it was a 'surprise'. Nico then asked who the other lead would be and Chiron told him that he was 'pulling some strings' and that 'he'd see'. Nico didn't know how to feel about all of that.

He really didn't want any attention drawn to himself; he knew he was a good dancer, but that didn't stop the inevitable blush forming on his neck and cheeks when he danced and he knew everyone in the company was watching. All of this, he thought about telling Leo.

Leo, his friend from that group home all those years ago. He smiled to himself, thinking about their rag tag group of friends, all stuck in that hell hole, all brought together by unspeakable circumstances.

Nico snapped back to reality and looked at Leo, really looked at the boy sitting across from him. His curly black hair was in a wavy mess on top of his head, his copper colored ears sneaking out beneath it. His eyes were wide and brown, staring at Nico as his old Camp Half Blood shirt, the name of their group home, hung loosely from his shoulders, exposing his bony collar bones. Nico grinned and shrugged.

"Leo, it's going, I guess." Leo's chewing faltered as he looked away, hurt seeping through his features. Nico immediately corrected himself. "I'm sorry. I just…" he trailed off. Leo looked at him.

"Nico, I try, you know. I try to get through each day, just like you, man." Nico nodded and took another bite of his quesadilla.

"I am sorry, Leo. Can I try again?" he asked, hopefully. Leo nodded and Nico sighed in relief. He hated when Leo was upset with him, especially when Leo tried so hard to make Nico smile.

"Chiron," Leo perked up at the name, "is choreographing a new dance, I think." Leo smiled.

"That sounds fun."

"And...he wants me to be a lead." Leo almost choked on his food.

"That's really good, Nico! I told you you are a great dancer, and you know Chiron has a lot of faith in you." Nico started to blush and took another bite of his quesadilla, desperate to hide his embarrassment.

"I really don't know why," he admitted. Leo's eyes widened and he put down his quesadilla and reached for Nico's hand. Nico wiped the grease of his hand and reached back as Leo intertwined their fingers.

"Look at me, Nico," Leo started and Nico did. "You," he squeezed his hand, "are an amazing person. You are beautiful and talented and deserving of love and acceptance. Don't ever believe otherwise." Nico started to smile and looked away.

"I don't know what you guys see in me," he said quietly. Leo squeezed his hand again.

"We see your soul, and it is pure."

Nico swallowed and slowly took his hand away from Leo's, deciding that he was finished eating. He got up from his chair and took his and Leo's plate and brought it to the sink.

"Since you cooked, it's only fair of me to do the dishes," Nico said quietly, while turning on the water. He heard Leo stand up and then suddenly, Leo's arms were around his waist, his hands roaming under Nico's shirt, Leo's hips against Nico's back. Nico jumped, not expecting the touch, and dropped the plate in the sink with a loud bang. He heard Leo laugh into his neck.

"Leo, what are you doing," Nico said, trying to steady his breathing. He felt Leo shrug.

"Just thanking you for washing the dishes," he said into his neck, his breath tickling Nico's skin. Nico shuddered.

"Leo, stop," he said half heartedly. Leo laughed again and pressed his palms flat against Nico's stomach. Immediately, he clenched his torso, letting his muscles show.

"Oh, how I love your little six pack," Leo teased, pressing his hands harder to him. Nico bit back a groan and took a deep breath.

"Leo, you have a girlfriend."

"I don't have a girlfriend." Nico shut off the water and slipped from Leo's grasp and turned to face him.

"Um, Calypso is your girlfriend." Leo looked at him through his eyelashes and grinned.

"Calypso and I broke up." Nico's eyes widened in alarm.

"What? When?" Leo shrugged and walked past Nico into the living room. Nico stared at the space Leo had just been for a few moments and then followed him into the living room where Leo had already made a spot on their sad couch and was flipping on their brown tv. A song was playing on it and it filled the lyrics filled the apartment.

They say bad things happen for a reason

But no wise words gonna stop the bleeding

'Cause she's moved on while I'm still grieving

And when a heart breaks no it don't break even

Nico sat down next to him and took the remote from his hands and turned the tv off. Leo sighed but didn't say anything in protest. "You are going to tell me what happened," Nico demanded. Leo shrugged again.

"Nothing, okay. We just...we are through. For good." Nico stared at him and Leo averted his eyes.

"Leo, I am sorry, okay? But you have to tell me what happened; you can't just act like it didn't hurt."

"How do you know?" Leo snapped, his face turning red. "You don't know shit, so how about you just drop it."

"I am trying to be your friend, Leo," Nico said quietly. Leo shook his head.

"I don't need a friend right now. I need a drink." Leo got up off the couch and opened the cabinet the tv was sitting on. He grabbed a bottle of something clear and hard and opened it and drank a long swig of it in one motion. He then walked back to the couch and sat down, offering the bottle to Nico. Nico shook his head, thinking about his dance class in the morning and stared sadly as Leo took another huge gulp.

Nico hated how his friend found comfort at the bottom of a bottle or between someone's legs. He hated how Leo could never deal with his feelings, ever since the group home. Leo had came in as an empty carcass, cracking jokes and being silly but never really laughing. But, Nico reminded himself, they all came in empty and defeated, not really caring what happened to them, not caring at all.

Nico watched Leo for a few moments before reaching over and taking the bottle straight from Leo's hands. Leo didn't protest, didn't do anything, just stared at an empty space in the wall, his eyes rimmed with red. Nico put the bottle on the floor and closed it, sighing into the couch.

"Nico," Leo croaked after a few minutes.

"Yes?"

"I loved her, man." Nico nodded.

"I know."

Nico woke up to his phone alarm going off. He opened his eyes, one at a time, the stickiness in them making it hard to do so. Finally, he yawned and stretched and rolled over, straight onto the ground. He hit the ground with a thud, landing on his side, the breath getting pushed out of his lungs in one swift motion.

"Shit," he muttered. He sat up and rubbed at his eyes as his vision cleared and he got his breath back. He looked down at himself; he was wearing nothing but black boxers and black socks. He shrugged and stood up, finally swiping to end the alarm blaring on his phone and choosing to play a song off of his playlist. '7:02' his phone read and he scratched at his head and looked around his room.

It was white; they were renting the place so painting the walls wasn't a real option but posters and pictures decorated them. His bed was full sized and his comforter was gray with the characters from Harry Potter plastered on it. He smiled to himself as he thought about his crush on Hermione, his first crush ever, and then his crush on Harry, his first crush on a guy, ever.

He looked in his mirror at himself. A boy with black hair and a bony figure stared back as he heard Bastille start to play. He then looked at the frame of the mirror, at the pictures sticking out from it. He must have had hundreds of pictures of his friends from Camp Half Blood, although he doubted anyone but Leo knew about his collection. He grabbed a picture from the top of the mirror and stared at it.

You took me to your favorite place on Earth

To see the tree they cut down ten years from your birth

Our fingers traced in circles 'round its history

We brushed our hands right back in time through centuries

It was a group picture of all his friends. There were two rows. On the left side of the row, standing up, he saw himself. He was definitely shorter-and skinnier-and he was wearing a black shirt with a smoke on it and black jeans with a chain hanging from his waist. Next to him was a dark skinned girl with a curly afro, Hazel, his half sister. She was wearing overalls and dirty sneakers. She was holding hands with an asian boy, Frank, who was wearing a bright red shirt and jeans. Leo was next, his orange shirt smothered in mechanic oil, his tool belt hanging low on his hips. His curly black hair seemed matted down to his skull by sweat as a lazy grin overtook his face. Next to him was Piper, a light brown skinned girl with colorful beads in her hair. She was wearing a Camp Half Blood t shirt and shorts. Her arm was linked with a blonde boy's, Jason, who was wearing a purple Camp Jupiter shirt. Camp Jupiter was a group home in California and a lot of their kids got transferred to Camp Half Blood. Percy and Annabeth were on the opposite end. Percy had black choppy hair and was wearing an orange Camp Half Blood shirt. Next to him was Annabeth. Her blonde curly hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she was wearing an old baseball cap. She was also wearing an orange tee.

On the bottom row, on the left side, were the Stolls, Travis and Connor. Their brown floppy hair matched each other's and they seemed to be in mid laugh when the picture was taken. Next to them was Rachel Elizabeth Dare, a girl with red curly hair. She was wearing a plaid shirt and ripped jeans with paint stains on them, her face obviously annoyed by the twins sitting next to her. Next to her was Tyson and Ella. Ella was sitting on Tyson's lap. Tyson was a huge boy with brown hair. He was wearing a Camp Half Blood shirt and Ella, who had red and yellow hair, was wearing a blue dress. Reyna was after that, wearing her purple Camp Jupiter shirt with pride and her curly brown hair in a braid past her shoulder. Grover was next to her, his crutches laying on his lap, his brown skin matching his brown curly hair. Juniper was sitting next to him, her head on his shoulder. She had long red hair and was wearing a green dress. Finally, there was Clarisse and Chris. Clarisse was like Nico, sporting the all black and her hair was in a low ponytail. She was holding hands with Chris who had black hair and was wearing all black as well.

I'll see you in the future when you're older

And we are full of stories to be told

Cross my heart and hope to die

I'll see you with your laughter lines

That picture had been taken the last day Nico was there; when he was nearly 16 years old and he hadn't seen most of those people since. Now, he was 20, living with Leo and dancing at a professional dance company. He smiled to himself as he thought about how far he had come. Now, he wasn't always brooding and angry. Now, he didn't always wear all black. Now, he wasn't written off as a troubled child. He was older and healthier and actually glad to be alive.

He put the picture back and glanced at the clock. '7:05'. He was wasting time. He opened his bedroom door and went across the hall to the bathroom. He stripped quickly and within a minute or so, he was standing in the shower, enjoying the feeling of the hot water on his skin. He peed in the shower and then brushed his teeth and washed his hair. Once he was finished, he toweled off and wrapped the towel around his waist and went back to his room.

Once in there, he slipped on underwear and a light long sleeved gray shirt and black sweat pants. He found some flip flops under his bed and put them on while grabbing a pair of black shades off his dresser and his phone off his bed. He walked out of his room, down the hall into the living room and was greeted by a smiling Leo Valdez.

"Leo?" Nico asked. Leo smiled harder. He was wearing a white t shirt and cargo pants, his trusty tool belt hanging low on his hips.

"Nico, I have a surprise for you," he told him. That's when Nico noticed Leo's hands behind his back.

"Whatcha got there?" he asked.

"Drum roll, please." Nico rolled his eyes and started patting his thighs. After a decent amount of seconds, Leo showed his hands, which were holding two chocolate chip frappes.

"Starbucks!" Leo screamed happily. Nico laughed and took the one that read 'Ghost King.'

"You did not have them write 'Ghost King', oh my god," Nico said laughing. Leo started laughing too.

"Yup, and mine says 'Repair Boy'." Nico playfully punched his arm.

"You are too much." Leo shrugged and took a sip.

"It's just...I know I was kind of crazy last night," he admitted, "hitting on you and...stuff." Nico shrugged.

"It's fine."

"It's not...I refuse to be like-" Nico cut him off.

"Don't," he said quietly. Leo stared at him for a few moments.

"Well, don't be late to your ballet class," Leo said jokingly.

"Ballet? Really?"

"Yes! You were a fairy for Christs' sake!"

"That was two years ago, Leo. Are you ever gonna let it go?"

"I am scarred for life. I can still see it now...Eighteen year old Nico DiAngelo in a purple leotard," he shuddered. Nico started laughing.

"Enough! I'm going to be late to my ballet class," Nico said, moving around Leo to pick up his dance bag from the ground and opened the door.

"Goodbye, Ghost King," Leo said.

"Later, Repair Boy."


	2. Wheel/ A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More "Touch Me"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one in which Nico meets somebody that he used to know and somebody who wants to know him.

Nico walked down the subway steps as people of all ages brushed past him. It was a Thursday morning, barely eight o'clock, and the subways were busy here in The Big Apple. Nico shouldered his bag tightly and walked down the stairs, running his hands through his still damp hair and adjusting his sun glasses. Once underground, the station was hot and humid. He hopped over the turnstile and sat on a grummy bench to wait on the train. He glanced at his phone. '7:53'. The bus was supposed to come at 8:00. He was early.

He put his bag down at his feet and plugged his earphones in to his phone. He searched Spotify for his playlist and played it. The first song that came on was Wheel by John Mayer.

People have the right to fly

And will when it gets compromised

Nico felt a hand on his shoulder and immediately spun around, taking one earphone out. Gray eyes and curly blonde hair stared back. His jaw literally dropped as he stared at somebody that he used to know. The gray eyes smiled at him and he blinked slowly with his brown ones.

"Nico diAngelo?"

"Annabeth?" The girl smiled and nodded and sat down next to him on the bench.

"Oh my goodness, it's been so long," Annabeth said.

And airports see it all the time

Where someone's last goodbye

Blends in with someone's sigh

Cause someone's coming home

Nico nodded. "Nearly five years, Annabeth. What are you doing here? I thought you went back to California." Annabeth nodded.

"I came back three years ago. But what about you? You stayed in New York?" Nico shrugged.

"There was nowhere else for me to go." Annabeth nodded sadly.

"What do you do now?"

"Well, you know Chiron's dance company?" She nodded. "I dance for it." It was Annabeth's turn for her jaw to drop.

"No way!" Nico laughed.

"Yeah, I know, I know. Leo teases me all the time about being a ballerina."

"You and Leo talk?" Nico nodded.

"We kind of live together." Annabeth stared at him. "We aren't like together or anything we just…"

"Ran away together," she finished for him. Nico shrugged.

"Call it what you wish. We just...needed to go for awhile."

"Half a decade is a sure long while, Nico."

And that's the way this wheel keeps working now

That's the way this wheel keeps working now

"Yes, well, you know why I left." Annabeth nodded. Then suddenly she grabbed his arm and started writing on it.

"Look, that is my phone number and Percy's address. We are having a little get together tomorrow night at Percy's and I think you should come. It'd be fun and everyone would be psyched to see you-both of you-again. Nico stared at his arm and then looked at Annabeth.

"I don't know, Chase. I don't think that'll be a great idea."

"It will, Nico. Everyone misses you...He misses you."

And you won't be the first

No you won't be the first

To love me

Nico purse his lips and looked away. Suddenly, he felt a gust of wind and stood up abruptly.

"My train is coming, Annabeth," he told her and he grabbed his bag. Annabeth stood up with him.

"Yeah, okay. But listen, you should come, Nico. Please." Nico stared at her as the train came to a stop.

"See you around, Annabeth," he said and walked away. Once on the train, he stood, facing the platform and stared at Annabeth as the train rode away.

You can find me, if you ever want again

I'll be around the bend

I'll be around the bend

Nico walked through the double doors of the dance studio. He turned right and went up to the reception desk. He saw a familiar mop of red hair spin around from behind the desk to face him.

"Nico!" the girl screamed happily. Nico just raised his eyebrows at the girl and grabbed the chained down pen to sign in on the sheet in front of him.

"Rachel Elizabeth Dare," he muttered back to her and started to turn away, pulling his bag tightly around his shoulder.

"Wait, wait!" he heard her start and he stopped, rolling his eyes and slowly turned back around. There was a small grin on her freckled face and her green eyes were staring at him widely.

"What?" he asked through gritted teeth. Nico had nothing against the redhead but she was always too happy for his liking, especially back at the home. She was nice and good for advice, but only if you didn't mind her blunt sarcasm. Plus, the girl was older than her, only by a couple of years, but she was part of the group he had so desperately removed himself from when Bianca died.

Bianca. The name sent a jolt through his chest and he willed his mind to get off the track it was surely heading down. If he kept it up, he'd be a silent brooding mess by nine o'clock.

The girl in front of him ran her hands through her messy hair and adjusted her plaid shirt while swinging slowly from side to side in her chair.

"I hear that you're coming to Percy's tomorrow," she said, her eyes squinting at him. Nico scoffed and rolled his eyes at her.

"How could you possibly know that. I was invited less than an hour ago," he said. Rachel shrugged, a grin crossing her face.

"Nico, you've known me for way too long to ask me that question. You know I know everything. And also, having Percy's address written in Annabeth's handwriting your arm is a huge plus." Nico made a face at her as he pulled his sleeve down and hid his arm from view. She winked at him and smiled. Nico started to turn away. "You know, Nico, you should go. The gang misses you, and it'll be fun." Nico shook his head and walked away, really not wanting to dignify that comment with a response.

Nico turned away from the lobby area and went left down a hall. At the end of the hall was a door to the stairwell. He opened it and went up one flight of stairs. At the top of the stairs, Nico sat down, missing the Starbucks he had finished on the train and threw out. He put his bag down beside him and then fished in his sweat pants pocket for his phone. Once he retrieved the iPhone, he rolled up his sleeve and took a picture of the address and phone number. He then pulled his sleeve down and started to text Leo.

Nico: Hey Valdez u will NOT guess who i jus ran into at the station

Leo: ...my pet dragon ?

Nico: hell no. that thing died a long time ago. festus burned up along with the hopes of u gettin laid

Leo: no need to be rude fuck wad

Nico:...u jus called me fuck wad and im the rude one -.-

Leo: yes! now tell me who u saw

Nico: oh ya i saw chase

Leo: u saw annabeth? ohmygod

Nico: ikr.

Leo:...was _ with her

Nico: thank god no.

Leo: well what happened

Nico: im sending u a pic now

Nico: did ya get it?

Leo: u kno im dyslexic -.- that is rude af

Nico: *rolls eyes* its percys address and chase's phone number

Nico: she invited me (read:us) to a party or sum tomarr night

Leo:...y

Nico: oh idk maybe bc we havent seen them in five years

Leo: do u wanna go? i mean it wouldnt be a bad idea. we cud see them and say hello. i kinda miss them.

Nico:...sure we cud go i guess

Leo: u sure?

Nico: i JUST said ya

Leo: cool. gotta go. im gettin a delivery on a new engine today for this car im workin on and the girl who's deliverin it is HOT

Nico: gross

Nico heard someone clear their throat and Nico's head snapped up, looking around the stairwell. A couple of steps below him stood a boy looking at him. The boy was lean and tall, hitting about 5"9. He had bright blonde hair and clear blue eyes. He had remnants of brown freckles across his nose and cheeks. He was wearing a white tank and a pair of those gray sweats that got skinnier as they went farther down the leg and were really baggy in the crotch area. He had a black backpack on his back and was wearing galaxy vans.

Nico immediately stood up, tripping over his bag and dropping his phone in the process.

"Hey, man, I'm sorry I startled you," the boy said cooly. His voice was smooth and deep but there was a hint of a southern accent in it. Nico's ears perked up at the accent. He sounded vaguely like Leo when he very first met him.

"You sound like.." he trailed off and stared at the boy for a moment more before clearing his throat and moving out the way. "I didn't mean to block the way," he said motioning towards the door. "Most people just take the elevator." The boy smiled at him and climbed the last few steps until he was face to face with Nico.

"Aye, it's no problem." The boy bent down and picked up Nico's dance bag and phone and gave it to him with a nod. "It's almost nine; I think the class will be starting soon." Nico glanced at his phone and the boy was right. The clock read '8:57'.

Nico looked at the boy and nodded at him and then swiftly turned around, yanked the door open and stepped out of the stairwell into the hallway. He turned left and entered the second room on his right. He heard the boy not too far behind him.

Stepping into the room, Nico was met with the scent of sweat, feet, and mirror cleaner. Nico smiled to himself and let the smell engulf him, the smell that he was all too familiar with. In the room were about 30 other young adults in various states of undress and stretching. Nico shouldered his bag and walked to the far left wall which really wasn't a wall at all.

The whole left wall was windows that let in the sunshine of the day. On the front wall was nothing but mirrors and the right and back walls were concrete with various dancing equipment and mobile closets shoved against them. The floors were sleek and hardwood and all around the walls were people getting ready. Nico went to his favorite spot, right below the second window and set his stuff down. From where he stood, he could see the ground below him. He could see the street and the hustle and bustle of the late morning walkers on their way to work and school.

Nico sat down next to his things and quickly stripped of his gray longsleeved shirt, trading it in for a black flowy tank that was very open on the sides. On the front of it was a skull and bones and on the back read 'Ghost King', a savored gem from his Half Blood days.

Nico remembered exactly when he got the shirt; he was 14 years old, right before Bianca abandoned him. They were all having dinner and it was Christmas time. Although not everyone at the home was a Christian, most of them were, and those who weren't didn't mind as much, except for maybe Luke Castellan. Other than him, Christmas was a joyous time, despite the shadow of not being able to spend the holidays with their real families hanging over them.

That Christmas was his first Christmas at that home and was his last Christmas with Bianca. He and his sister were still fairly new, only coming there in the fall, but the kids there had already accepted them as their own. That Christmas, Rachel Elizabeth Dare had given everyone homemade gifts. No one knew what they were and everyone was forbidden to open them before Christmas morning.

But once Christmas morning came, Rachel's gifts were the first to be opened. She had made everyone their own custom shirt, varying in style, color and what was said on them. Bianca had gotten a white sweater with a black skull on it and on the back, it read 'Ghost Queen'. Nico had gotten the black tank with a skull on the front and 'Ghost King', written on the back. The two had received the nicknames literally upon arriving when Grover observed that "they were so pale and so bony, you'd think they were ghosts!" Annabeth had hit him for that one, but the name stuck.

Nico smiled at the memory as he pulled the fabric over his head. He then proceeded to take off his flip flops and dig through his bag looking for his black vans. He finally found them and slipped them on, ignoring the unraveling fabric and old shoelaces. He had had those shoes when Bianca was alive. They were way too big for him back then, but they were the only shoes they could get at the time and they were too nice, too expensive to just give away. Bianca always told him 'it'd be a waste of shoe' or 'you'll grow into them'. And grow into them he had.

Unfortunately, once he was able to wear the shoes properly, they were so worn out from the years of creasing and mud and rain and running, he couldn't really wear them anywhere. So instead, he taped them up the best he could and used them for dancing shoes once he'd left Camp Half Blood. Besides, his sister had gotten them for him and he didn't think he'd ever give them away even after they fully ravelled apart.

"Wow, those shoes have been through some stuff, aye?" he heard a voice above him. Nico squinted up to see the boy from the stairwell staring down at him and grinning. Nico shrugged and stuffed everything inside of his bag, turning his phone on silent and stood up. The boy smiled at him harder and the freckles on his nose stretched farther across his face. Nico found it cute. The broken lyrics of a Fall Out Boy song started to fill his head.

I confess, I messed up

Hey, kid, you'll never live this down

Almost immediately after the thought hit him he mentally gagged and told himself to "chill." The boy didn't seem to notice and stuck his hand out between them, as if he wanted a handshake.

"The name's William Solace, but you can call me Will, if you'd like." Nico stared down at his hand in confusion. He really didn't like touching people; he didn't like people in general. But here he was, staring at a cute boy with blue eyes and freckles and the biggest grin plastered on his face, who was asking him to shake his hand. Nico grimaced as he weakly shook the boy's hand.

I don't blame you for being you

But you can't blame me for hating it

"diAngelo," he said softly, averting his eyes and side stepping around the boy. Nico felt the boy turn around with him.

"I don't get a first name?" the boy asked, a chuckle rising in his voice. Nico closed his eyes and breathed through his nose, not really in the mood to talk out loud with a strange stranger. He was an introvert for a reason but he couldn't help the snappy reply that escaped his lips a second later.

"Are we on a first name basis?" he asked, loud enough for Will to hear, but not loud enough to draw attention. He heard Will chuckle, forreal this time, and something within Nico melted to goo. 'God, that laugh,' he thought to himself as he felt a blush reaching his neck and then his ears and nose. He cursed himself and spun around, facing Will, trying not to show the dark red on his face or his uneasiness. He purposely dropped his voice an octave and put on a scowl. "Well, Solace," he used the last name as a weapon, "are we?"

Will's smile dropped from his face so fast, it startled Nico. But, of course, he didn't let on, and kept his eyes trained on the blue ones. Will's mouth parted and his lips, his pink cute lips, were motionless as his tongue flicked out to lick them. For half a second, Nico wished it were his tongue that had the honor. And then he was back, and the remnants of that thought were cast away to the deepest darkest pits of hell as he kept up his face of nonchalance and vague dislike.

Write me off, give up on me

'Cause darling what did you expect

I'm just off a lost cause

A long shot, don't even take this bet

Finally, Will sputtered and then ran his hands through his hair and moved his body weight from one side or the other. Nico thought he had won, so desperately wanted this weird standoff to end but just as he made way to turn and leave, Will opened his pretty mouth.

"Well, damn, Nico, I don't know, but I sure do want to be." Nico's facade shattered just like that; the blush was back and he could hear his blood in his ears.

"How did yo-"

"I asked someone," he said, smiling again, his blue eyes bright, "I asked someone about the 'cute boy over there'." Nico swallowed, hard.

And you're just the girl all the boys want to dance with

And I'm just the boy using too many chances

"I'm sorry man, but you've got the wrong kid." Nico said it with gravel and his voice and turned away, quickly, so that he wouldn't have to see Will's face.

Write me off give up on me

He walked to the front of the room as Chiron walked in, his prosthetic legs banging softly on the wooden floor. Nico risked a glance backwards and saw Will who was staring at him with wide blue eyes.

'Cause darling what did you expect

I'm just a lost cause

Nico stared at him for a few moments longer and then finally looked away and focused on stretching. He bent down and touched his toes and then proceeded to slowly stretch into a perfect right split. He heard a few cat calls, as per usual; there were always catcalls whenever anyone did a split as long as it wasn't under the instruction of Chiron. He saw a blonde boy walk up to him out of his peripherals.

"Nice split," the boy said and Nico rolled his eyes, recognizing the voice.

"How about you split on this dick, Octavian," he told him, as he adjusted and switched over to a left split. The boy walked away with a laugh.

A long shot, don't even take this bet

Chiron called the attention of everyone and everyone stopped talking and sat down. Nico released his split and sat criss cross applesauce as he watched everyone else get seated. Diagonal from him, he saw Will standing up awkwardly, looking for a place to sit. They made eye contact for a brief second and then Will was being pulled down by someone. Nico looked to see who it was and saw blonde hair. Octavian.

Will fell into Octavian's lap with unnatural grace and Nico could hear Will's chuckle from where he was sitting.

I set my clocks early 'cause I know I'm always late


	3. Afire Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one in which Nico is okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a little sad :(

"Good morning, dancers," Chiron started. Nico turned away from Will's direction and focused on Chiron speaking. He had his dark blonde hair pulled back into a low ponytail and he was wearing a faded blue t shirt and shorts, his prosthetic legs glittering beneath them. No one really knew how Chiron lost his legs; some say it was in some horrible accident. Others say he was born like that. Nico didn't know and Nico didn't really care.

Back at the home, they had two counselors: Dr. D and Chiron. Dr. D was an interesting man. He seemed to always be drunk and he never could get their names right. He was rude and unpleasant to be around but there was still an underlying respect for him. Respect-and the coursing fear in their veins. Chiron, however, had always been the nicer one of the two. He gave great advice and seemed to know each child personally. He welcomed Bianca and Nico with open arms, and when Nico told him he was leaving, Chiron didn't try and stop him like Nico thought he would. Chiron knew a lot more about Nico than most people did and Nico had mad respect for him and his wisdom, whether he agreed with it or not.

Nico tuned back into what the man was saying and focused on his words.

"Today, we will be welcoming a new member to this company. His name is William Solace. Will, please come up." Everyone turned their heads towards Will and a low murmur settled across the room; the company rarely got new members. There were a few cat calls as Will walked to the front of the room. Chiron glared at them and immediately, silence filled the room.

Will didn't seem so confident all of a sudden. He was slightly blushing and his hands were deep in his pockets. Nico avoided looking at his face and trained his eyes on Chiron who was smiling brightly at him.

"This young man standing beside me, is one of the best dancers in the nation. He comes from a long line of musicians, dancers and actors. He is extremely gifted in his talent, but don't take my word for it; you'll see it for yourselves. I want you all to warmly welcome him, for he should be treated as a part of the family." He turned to him. "I know how it can be being the new kid and all. But here, Will, you are welcome." He clasped his hand on Will's shoulder and smiled at him. Will nodded and trudged back to his seat.

Chiron's little speech reminded Nico of when he had first met him all those years ago. He was a skinny little boy in a bomber jacket, his sister's hand in one hand and a deck of Mythomagic cards in the other when he had met Chiron. Even though he had just turned fourteen, he was still a nerdy dorky little kid at heart. Bianca made sure that he didn't have to grow up sooner than he should have, like she had to. She protected him and allowed him to be a child as long as she could.

It was already cold with Christmas right around the corner when the shuffled in behind Percy, Annabeth and Grover, shivering from head to toe. Chiron immediately made hot cocoa and called for a family meeting. Family meetings were gatherings of the whole household to discuss problems within the group, outside the group, a leaving member or a new member.

Within ten minutes of him calling the meeting, everyone had gathered in the foyer with a cup of hot cocoa and a blanket. Nico was young then and hyper. He had serious ADHD and he jumped around the room the whole time while everyone was introducing themselves. He immediately took a liking to Percy and would not stop asking him questions as Grover laughed at his weirdness. Soon enough, though, Bianca called him to her and Nico stood next to her as she told them their names.

She was wary of the group for she always had to be. She didn't want neither of them getting hurt. But back then, Nico didn't understand her. He didn't understand anything. Nico did remember however that Bianca was shaking as she stood in front of all those people and it wasn't because of the cold. Chiron had walked up to her with a smile.

"It's okay to be afraid, Bianca," he had told her, "but, you can stop running now."

They both stared at him in wonder. The man was too kind and too nice. They had never felt that love and affection from anyone, really. Nico thought that that was the first time he realized that there could really be good in the world.

He broke away from the flashback and looked to Chiron.

"Okay. Today, is going to be a relaxing day, for we just performed and you all need the rest. You all are welcome to stay and practice here but," he looked around the room with a smirk, "you can go home, if you so wish to." There was a loud cheer. Chiron laughed. "Don't get used to it, my friends. Tomorrow we start practicing for a new show so use your free day wisely." Chiron gave a pointed glance at everyone and then smiled again. "Have fun," he told them and turned to leave the room. Immediately, the talking resumed as many people started to pack up their things. Nico stood up and made his way to his bag.

"Nico," he heard Chiron call. He looked back at him and walked towards him. Once he was in ear shot he smiled at him and glanced at his shirt. "I remember that Christmas," he said quietly. Nico smiled and nodded.

"Rachel Elizabeth Dare is a talented one," he said. Chiron laughed.

"You know, I still don't know how in the world she got the materials for all those shirts."

"The bet is she robbed her dad and then used the money to buy the materials and give back to the homeless," he told him with a smile. Chiron laughed harder.

"I doubt that's very far from the truth." It was Nico's turn to laugh.

"So what's up, Chiron. It's not like you to seek me out. It's usually the other way around." Chiron smiled at him and patted his shoulder.

"Grab your things and meet me in my office," he said. Nico stared at him for a moment and then turned away to pack up. When he got to his things, Octavian was standing there with a smirk on his face.

"Hey, Death Breath," he said. Nico rolled his eyes and bent down to grab his bag.

"Not today, Satan," he muttered.

"What was that?" Octavian asked loudly. Nico squinted up at him and scoffed.

"What do you want, Octavian?" Octavian ran a hand through his blonde hair as a lazy smirk fell across his face.

"Tell the gang I said hi."

"What are you talking about?"

"I hear you're going to Percy Jackson's tomorrow night." Nico turned away from him and stood up.

"And..?"

"And I want you to tell them all I said hi."

"Why? Why the hell do you want to say hi to them. You hate them." Octavian smirked and shrugged.

"So?"

"So tell them your damn self."

"I wasn't invited, idiot. And even if I was, I wouldn't go. Reyna and Jason would be there."

Nico smiled to myself as he thought about Reyna and Jason's treatment of Octavian. The three of them were all from the group home in California and Octavian was a nutty nut case, back then...Well, truthfully, he still was. But at their home in Cali, Octavian had gotten out of control and Reyna and Jason had to 'put him in his place' to say it nicely.

"I see you're still scared of them, huh?" Octavian's face turned purple and he started stuttering.

"I-I-I am not. How dare you say that about me. They d-d-do not frighten me; they irritate me. I am just trying to keep the peace." Nico nearly laughed and turned away.

"The peace, Octavian?" he asked as he thought back to his little time at the group home in Cali. "When have you ever tried to keep the peace?"

Nico shouldered his bag and walked away from the still stuttering and fuming boy. He walked out of the room and went down the stairs. He jumped them, two at a time, as he pulled his phone out from his bag. He started to text Leo.

Nico: Yo

Leo: Yeah?

Nico: Wyd

Leo: Workin why?

Nico: Chiron let us off today

Leo: No way

Nico: Ikr...wanna do sum

Leo: Like…?

Nico: Ion kno. we cud go to central park

Leo: it's hot outside. gross

Nico: nvm then.

Leo: um...what else

Nico: ion kno leo. We never hang out outside of the apartment

Leo: ...now that i think about it...that's true...umma change that...i wanna show u sum

Nico: what?

Leo: nunya. you'll just have to see. meet me at the garage in an hour k

Nico: yeah ok. see ya then

Nico put the phone in his back pocket and walked past the front desk to the end of the hall where Chiron's office was. He knocked on the door twice and then opened it with a creak. Chiron was sitting at his desk with his glasses on. He was staring at a picture frame.

"Come on in, Nico," he said, and motioned towards the chair across from his desk. Nico nodded, and walked in, closing the door. He dropped his bag and sat in the chair.

"This brings me back, Chiron," Nico said to him, feeling the nostalgia of sitting in front of a desk with a man behind it not knowing whether or not you did something wrong. Chiron smiled at him and put the picture frame, face up, on his desk and slid it to Nico.

Nico grabbed it and looked at it. It was a photo from the first Christmas Nico spent at Camp Half blood. They were outside the house, sitting on the steps in the snow. Everyone was wearing the shirts that Rachel had made for them. Nico immediately spotted Bianca's dark hair. She was smiling hard and was proudly wearing her white sweater. Nico was standing next to her, his hand intertwined in hers. He was wearing the oversized black tee and had his brown bomber jacket over it. He was smiling hard as well, his long black hair caught in the wind.

"You all were so young, back then," Chiron said. Nico jumped out of his thoughts and put the picture down.

"Why are you showing me this now?" Chiron eyed Nico and took the picture form where it was and repositioned it on his desk.

"I looked back into the old records and realized something. She hadn't been at Camp Half blood for a full year before she passed, meaning she never spent a birthday with us-meaning I never realized until now-" Nico cut him off.

"Stop, Chiron. I'm doing good, right now. I'm doing really good." Chiron stared at him and he stared back as he felt tears prick his eyes. "I'm talking to people, now, Chiron." He forced a smile. "I don't have the nightmares anymore and I don't cry myself to sleep. Please do not do this to me. Please do not remind me of this." He swallowed hard and his voice was soft when he spoke again. "Please do not bring me back."

Things were all good yesterday

Then the Devil took your breath away

"Nico, you should know more than anyone that you can not outrun your past."

"I am not running away from it, Chiron. I am surviving. I am living. I can't do that and think about her. I can't live and think about everything, okay?"

There you are lying in the bed again

Either way I'll cry with the rest of them

"Her birthday is in two weeks. She would have been-"

"She's dead, Chiron." He said it with no emotion. He said it like he had been repeating it to himself over and over and over like a mantra. Bianca was dead. She was gone.

Now we're left here in the pain

Black suit black tie standing in the rain

"Nico, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have-"

"Yeah," he snapped, as he wiped at his eyes. "You shouldn't have." Chiron swallowed and repositioned the various picture frames around his desk.

"You do realize, that all of this, Nico, all of it, will never go away. You need to think about it and talk about it. You need to think about your father-"

"I'm doing good, right now, Chiron. I don't need this-"

"You know he's going to come looking for you like he always does."

My father and all of my family

Rise from the seats to sing Hallelujah

"It doesn't matter, Chiron. I'll do what I do every year and forget about him. I'll forget about everything."

"Nico." He looked at him and blinked away the tears.

"Is that all?"

"Nico."

"Is that all, Chiron," Nico asked again. He stared at him hard and sniffed. Chiron softly nodded and Nico was out of the chair faster than lightning. He grabbed his bag and slammed the door. He turned right, right before he reached the lobby area and went into the first door on his left.

Nico found myself in the bathroom. He threw his bag on the ground and grabbed at the sink to keep from falling. He was breathing hard and was sweating. He dry heaved over the sink as he felt the beginning stages of a panic attack coming on.

"No, no, no, no, no," he started muttering to himself. He looked at his reflection and wiped at his face and eyes which were now rimmed with red. His skin was cool and he was as pale as a ghost. He laughed out loud at the irony and willed himself to calm down. He didn't understand why Chiron decided to bring that up. He didn't understand anything anymore.

Nico shook his head and banged on the kitchen sink.

"No," he muttered to myself, "stop this. You are okay. You are okay." He nodded to himself once and wiped the rest of his face off with his shirt. He shook out his hair and stared at his reflection. He had to go meet Leo. He smiled at himself and it looked exceedingly sad. He tried again and the second time didn't look nor feel as bad. He did it a third time and it was almost as if he hadn't been breaking down at all.

He reached down for his bag and sighed as he walked out of the door. He was going to be okay. He needed to be okay.

Things were all good yesterday


	4. I'm Coming Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one in which Leo comes home.

Nico walked down the sidewalk, with his shades on his head. He held his bag close to his hip as he turned down a corner and hit some girl square in the chest. Nico felt the oxygen get knocked from his chest as he stumbled, blindly, backwards. He finally found his grounding and looked at who he ran into.

A girl stood staring back at him, her eyes wide and her hair framed around her face. It was brown with golden streaks that were curled around her face which only enhanced her beauty. She was wearing a white floral dress with a white pin in her hair. Nico immediately recognized the girl and deliberately wiped all emotion from his voice before he spoke.

"Calypso." The girl squinted at him and then a smile crossed her face.

"Nico! I haven't seen you in weeks, man," she said, beginning to bring him into a hug but then thinking better of it. Nico nodded and readjusted his shirt and bag.

"Sorry I ran into you," he told her. She smiled again and shrugged.

"It's no problem. You're not going to the garage are you?" she asked, her perfectly tailored eyebrows forming a crease in her forehead. Nico nodded.

"Yeah, I am, actually. Leo told me to meet him there." Calypso's face fell as her ears tinged with pink.

"Hmm," she noted as she looked away from Nico. "He's been avoiding me, then. He told me that he wasn't going to be there at all today." Nico forcefully kept his eyes from rolling. He really didn't care for Calypso, and he never understood why Leo did. She was gorgeous, yes, but she was very needy and manipulative. If she wanted you, she needed you to want her twice as much, even if it meant giving up something. Besides, she wasn't necessarily a nice person to begin with so her neediness did not do well in Nico's book. He thought back to his Half blood days as he remembered having the same questions when Percy started to fall for her.

A pang filled his chest almost immediately, and Nico took in a sharp breath. Suddenly, green eyes and black hair filled his brain and he blinked them away with embarrassment. He then focused back on Calypso and snapped to attention when he realized that he had not responded.

"Well," he started, "you know Leo can be busy. Besides, it's not like you are dating him anymore. I guess he just doesn't worry about worrying about you anymore. I know I wouldn't." The last sentence was lost as Calypso scoffed and turned red.

"You know what, Nico DiAngelo, you are just as mean and brooding and bitter as the day I met you." She glared at him and stormed past him. "Hope you have a great time at Percy's tomorrow," she nearly screamed as she turned behind the corner. Nico's eyes widened in amused shock as Calypso's smell of flowers and soil filled his nose. He chuckled to himself and shrugged away the comment and started walking down the street towards the garage.

When he reached the garage, the silver garage door was halfway down. Nico sighed as he ducked under it into a dimly lit room that reeked of machine oil and gas. Nico stood all the way up and was met with a shiny red car sitting in the middle of the room. Nico saw a pair of tanned legs sticking out the side of it and Nico laughed to himself.

"Leo?" he called out. He heard a bang and then the clatter of a fallen pipe, closely followed by a spanish curse. Nico laughed aloud and walked to where the legs were and bent down. He peeked under the car and saw Leo lying on his back, his blue overall arms tied around his waist.

Leo slid out with a push, and glared at Nico as he stood up. His overalls were streaked with black oil and his white tank top was soaked in sweat. His tool belt looked nastier than ever as it held on to Leo's small frame. He rubbed his hand on his head and rolled his eyes at Nico.

"You can't just scare a man that's under a car, dude. I could've died." Nico nodded with a smirk on his lips.

"Should've, could've, would've...Didn't," he said. Leo reached to hit him but Nico easily sidestepped his arm. Leo rolled his eyes again and wiped his hands on his shirt, leaving a nasty greasy stain. He walked past him to the tool table and glanced at his phone.

"AND, you're early, you punctual little pedazo de mierda." Nico stepped back in mock shock.

"Did you just call me a piece of shit, in spanish?" Leo stepped out of his overalls and grabbed for his shorts hanging on a nail above the tool table. He glanced at Nico with a smirk.

"Maybe. Maybe not. It's not like you can actually speak spanish."

"I speak Italian. It's close enough." Leo made a face and slipped the shorts on and took off the tank, letting it fall into a crumpled pile on the floor.  
Nico tried, he really did, not to look at Leo's tanned torso, the sweat adding a glossy shine to his thin frame. He had a ghost of abs on his stomach and black curly hair that trailed from his belly button to further beyond. As he turned around to reach for his t shirt, his back muscles rippled throughout his body, obviously making themselves known. His thin biceps, thin they may be, were decorated with firm muscles and Nico nodded to himself as he took in Leo's half naked appearance.

Then Leo was pulling the green t shirt over his head and the view was gone along with Nico's wandering eyes. Nico made a point to look at the tool table as Leo turned around. Nico looked back at him with raised eyebrows.

"You ready?" Nico asked him, his voice embarrassingly rougher than expected. Leo smirked as he stepped over the dirty pile at his feet to where he was less than a foot away from Nico's face.

Nico willed the blood not to rush to his cheeks as he stared, confused, into Leo's eyes. Leo was still wearing the silly grin, a little bit of his cheek smeared with oil.

"What're you-" Nico started. Leo bent down and reached for something next to Nico's leg. Nico looked down and stepped back. Leo showed him a pair of black converse and shook them in front of his face.

"Just getting my shoes. Damn, Nico, relax," he laughed. Nico squinted his eyes at him.

"You know how I feel about personal space."

Leo shrugged and slipped his shoes on.

"You ready?"

"I'm waiting on you, idiot," Nico said, annoyed, and turned around to walk out of the garage. Leo grabbed his phone and followed behind him, locking the chain to the garage door once they were out. Nico turned to him as he slid his shades down his face.

"Now, where are we going?" Leo turned to him and smiled.

"Just follow me, okay," he told him as he turned left and started walking down the sidewalk. Nico followed behind.

"You want to know who I just saw?" Nico asked Leo. Leo glanced back with a raised eyebrow.

"Who?"

"Oh, the one and only, Calypso." Leo scoffed and thrust his hands into his pockets.

"God, what did she want?"

"You, naturally. She thinks you're avoiding her."

"Because I am. Glad to know she's observant." Nico laughed and fell in step with Leo, his bag softly banging on his side.

"If you don't mind me asking-"

"I do." Nico closed his mouth with a small smack. He knew that when Leo was determined not to speak about something, no one on Earth could make him. He'd expertly change the subject or shut down completely. Nico shrugged and looked up at the sky with a sigh.

There wasn't a cloud in sight and the sun shone beautifully down.

"Today is gorgeous, don't ya think," Leo asked him. Nico nodded in agreement.

They walked in silence for a few minutes as Nico followed behind Leo, not really sure where they were headed. After about ten minutes, Leo started to slow down and stopped in front of a restaurant with the smell of food leaking out of it.

Nico looked up at the building. It was sunken between two other buildings and the words 'Eduardo's Cocina' were on the front. The building was older than the ones that flanked it and smaller, too, with faded blue letters on the front hanging on by their hinges. Nico looked at Leo with raised eyebrows. Leo just smiled sadly and held the door open. Nico figured any place that smelled as godly as 'Eduardo's Cocina' couldn't be that bad, and walked in.

I'm coming home

I'm coming home

Inside, it was extremely busy, with many spanish looking people walking and talking all around. Nico looked around in shock. The restaurant wasn't very big but that fact didn't seem to matter. Red and green booths were pushed up against the walls and in the middle were various wooden tables and chairs that didn't quite match. On the far wall was a bar of some sorts with a door on the end of it where many people were flying in and out of with hot trays of food.

"Whoa," Nico breathed as he took in the sight and smell. The food smelled delicious and Nico felt his stomach growl with anticipation. Leo glanced at him with a smirk as they walked towards the man standing behind a podium of sorts.

The man was young, maybe a little older than Leo, and was wearing a nice button down shirt and slacks. He had curly brown hair that was cut into a hipster style where the edges and sides were nearly shaved off but the top part was flowing freely from his head. His skin was a milky almond color and his eyes were a dark brown.

When the man spotted Leo, a smile lit up his face as a side stepped around the posium and pulled Leo into a hug. Leo immediately hugged back, his smile stretching farther across his face.

"Julio!" Leo said happily, as he pulled away. The boy named Julio pulled away and clapped Leo on the shoulder.

Back where I belong

I've never felt so strong eh

"Leo! It's been too long, my friend," he said with a heavy Texas accent. Leo smiled at him and then motioned to Nico who awkwardly stepped forward.

"This is my friend. I wanted to show him the place. He's extremely uncultured." Julio laughed and held out his hand for him to shake. Nico swallowed hard and gripped his bag closer to him. Leo saw the subtle movement and got Julio's attention.

"Yeah, my friend has a thing about physical contact." Julio smiled happily.

"No worries!" He turned back to Nico. "What is your name, friend?"

"DiAngelo." Julio's eyes lit up.

"Aah. Angel. You don't look.." he made various hand gestures. Nico smirked and nodded.

"No, I'm Italian." Julio nodded.

"I see, I see. Well, I am glad Leo has brought you here. This is my dad's place." Nico nodded.

"Your dad's name is Eduardo, I take it." Julio laughed and looked at Leo.

"I like DiAngelo." Leo raised his eyebrows and nodded.

"Oh trust me, that's a first." Nico rolled his eyes and turned to Leo.

"Bite me, Valdez."

"Valdez! Now, that's a name I haven't heard in a long time!" boomed a voice from behind Julio.

tell the World I'm coming home

Julio turned around with a smile as a man in a chef's hat and apron appeared. He was an old tan man, with sunken holes in his face. When he smiled, many lines appeared around his eyes and around his mouth, mapping out his face. His hair was a silvery black that was shortly cut and he had silver stubble on his cheeks.

Leo looked at the man and suddenly his face grew very solemn. He cast away his eyes as the man walked towards him.

"Eduardo," Leo muttered, as Julio failed miserably at containing his laughter. Nico started to laugh. The man looked down at Leo with a serious face and his hands on his hips.

"Now, this cannot be Leo Valdez because Leo Valdez was sixteen last time I saw him and I know Leo Valdez did not wait five years until he came back to see me." Leo looked up at him with a weak smile and shrugged.

"I was busy?" He said it as a question.

"Come here, son." Eduardo shook his head and then pulled him into a hug. Leo slowly wrapped his arms around him. Julio stood there smiling at them. Finally they pulled away and Eduardo grabbed Leo's ear. Leo immediately started to scream. "Now, next time you take five years to see me again, Voy a hacer mucho más que sólo pellizcar este oído , ¿me entiendes ?" Leo stared up at the man and grabbed his ear.

"Well, what're you going to do?" he asked. Eduardo smiled.

"You, my friend, do not want to know." Leo quivered and then smiled as he went back to stand next to Nico.

"So," Julio started, "now that that's over. Can I get you all a table." Leo's face dropped as he begrudgingly shook his head.

"I actually didn't come for the food," he said, looking at Eduardo. A look of understanding past over Eduardo's face as he motioned for Leo and Nico to follow him.

been a long time coming, been a long time coming

"I got it from here, Julio. Get back to work." Julio smiled and waved and turned back to the desk.

Nico and Leo followed Eduardo throughout the restaurant to the back through the door. The door led to the kitchen, naturally. There were over a dozen men and women in the back preparing various dishes of food. When Eduardo entered the kitchen, everyone said, 'hola, jefe' and Eduardo nodded back with a smile. At the back of the kitchen, in the right corner, was a locked door that opened to a set of stairs that went up. Eduardo fished out a key from his apron pocket and unlocked it.

"It's all up there, Leo," he told him. Eduardo pressed the key into Leo's palm. "Take all the time that you need." Leo's hand closed around the key and he looked at Eduardo with big eyes.

Let the rain wash away all the pain of yesterday

I know my kingdom awaits and they've forgiven my mistakes

"Thank you," he nearly whispered. Eduardo smiled and clasped Leo on the shoulder as he turned away. Nico turned to Leo.

"What's up there?" Nico asked. Leo turned to him with a forced smile.

"My past."

I'm coming home, I'm coming home

tell the World I'm coming…home


	5. Mama

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one in which Esperanza dies and Leo cries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, it's the author speaking :p. I just want to say that this is definitely still a solangelo fic, I swear. It's just a lot of back story at the moment. Not in this chapter, but next chapter we get to see Will again with a whole lot of fluff and angsty Nico. I promise! So...enjoy some sad Leo Valdez and next chapter we get cute and flirty Will :) Author, out!

Nico trudged up the stairs behind Leo with a feeling of anxiousness and anticipation in his stomach. He tried not to focus on Leo's silence or on his odd way of acting. Nico knew that whatever Leo was about to show him was about to change their friendship forever, and Nico wasn't sure he was ready for that.

Nico didn't do feelings. He didn't do the past. He had known Leo only a few months when they decided to run away together. It was just a matter of Nico's sadness and Leo's sadness and their desperate need to get away that had pushed them together. They barely knew each other then, to say the least.

Of course, that was different now; they'd been living together for years now and understood each other perfectly, but there were just some things they never brought up. Bianca, was one thing that they never spoke about. Nico knew Leo knew about her, for Leo knew Percy and Annabeth and Thalia and all three of them were there. But Leo never asked him about it and Nico never told him. And likewise, Nico knew about Leo's mother, that she was dead, but nothing else. Leo never spoke about it and Nico never asked. And this, was all fine with Nico.

Along the way, they learned each other's tendencies and coping methods. Leo was always laughing and drinking; Nico was always fucking something and crying. But they had learned to get better. Leo no longer drank himself under the table and Nico no longer brought strange men and women home. It was a simple system; they lived and moved around each other in the present without bringing up the sharp knives of the past that answered the horrible questions of why they were the way they were.

Nico knew that whatever was at the top of the stairs would very much answer one of those questions. He just wasn't sure if he was ready for the answer or not.

The stairs led to a dark room and Nico heard Leo sigh as he felt along the wall for the light switch. Nico heard a click and immediately, a dim light filled the room, exposing wooden walls, spider webs and a small pile of boxes in the center of it. The room itself smelled old and foreign, as if no one had been up there in years; and from the looks of the dust and dead rodents and roaches, no one had.

Leo ran his hand through his black curls and breathed out a long tired breath. He sideways glanced at Nico with an awkward grin and stepped forward into the room towards the boxes, his shoes softly thudding against the wooden floor. Nico slowly followed him, watching Leo's every move with caution.

There were about five boxes, three on the bottom and two sitting on top of them. They were a faded brown, the color of creamy coffee, and were marked with sharpie that long since lost its eligibility. Leo went to the boxes and grabbed one from the top and sat down with it. Nico followed suit, sitting down next to the quiet boy, resting his hands in between his crossed legs.

Nico watched as Leo carefully opened the box, the old masking tape ripping anew, the sound filling the room. Leo breathed in slowly and then opened the box in one swift movement, as if he were telling himself it were now or never. Nico couldn't see what was in the box, but Leo stared at the box's contents for a long time before he moved. When he did move again, it was to grab whatever was in the box.

Slowly, Leo pulled out an old, creased, leather back book that was about the size and shape of a school binder. Leo kicked the box away and set the book down in his lap gently, slowly running his fingers around the edges of it.

Finally, he seemed to remember Nico's presence and he turned to him, with his bottom lip in between his teeth.

"So," he started. Nico looked at him with wide eyes.

"So," he said back. Leo cracked a grin that did not at all suit his face and reached around his waist to take off the toolbelt hanging around it. Nico stared at the old orange thing as Leo slipped it off and laid it out in front of him.

"That tool belt, was Esperanza's," Leo told him. Nico nodded. Esperanza. Esperanza Valdez. Leo's mother. Leo's dead mother. "She was a mechanic," he continued, his voice hitching on the word was, "like me." He glanced at Nico and then shied away from Nico's intense stare. Leo chuckled and shifted his weight, as he stared at the cold floor beneath him. "My mother," he started and then stopped, his breath starting to speed up. Nico swallowed hard.

"Leo, you don't have to," he trailed off. Leo shook his head furiously.

"No. I can't..I need to tell someone. Someone deserves to know who she was," and even softer, "who I am." He blinked hard and Nico nodded and waited for Leo to continue. Leo's hands had started to shake and he kept fisting them together and then releasing and doing it all over again. He was anxious. Leo was scared.

Nico understood that feeling all too well. Most of his life had been spent in fear and he knew it took a lot of guts to build up the courage to explain to someone why they were so afraid. It took a lot of courage for anyone to explain their nightmares.

For a long time, Nico didn't explain them; Bianca did. She was his buffer. That is, until she died. After she was gone, everything around Nico came crashing down in a wave and he sunk deeper and deeper within himself until he could no longer see the light. He did things to others, to himself, that he knew no one could ever forgive. Maybe that's why he couldn't stomach going to confessional with Leo. Maybe that's why he couldn't stomach staying at the group home.

Leo snapped him out of his thoughts when he moved to open the leather book. Dust flowed freely from it when he did and Nico heard Leo take a sharp intake. Nico looked into the book and could see the old faded polaroids and developed photos littering the clear sleeves of plastic.

"It's a scrapbook," Nico confirmed and Leo nodded.

"My mother loved taking pictures of us," Leo all but whispered. "It seemed like everyday she'd add a new picture to the scrapbook or to the wall. And on the dark nights when we probably weren't going to make our rent or have a breakfast the next morning, she'd always flip through them." He flipped a page and I was met with a smiling four year old Leo, his black curls framing his chubby cheeks and dough eyes. He had two small teeth in his mouth and his pink tongue was poking through his lips. He had a toy screwdriver in his hand and was wearing overalls. In the next picture over was Esperanza. She was young and beautiful, her tan skin literally glowing, her wide smile shining brightly. Her curly hair was not as dark as Leo's, maybe a shade or two lighter, and it was pulled back into a ponytail. Her eyes were just as doughy as Leo's baby ones but her cheek bones weren't nearly as chubby. They were extremely angular, casting shadows across her face like some spanish goddess. She was wearing an oil streaked t shirt and overalls that were rolled up to her shins.

"Believe it or not," Leo said, breaking the silence, "I took that picture. I was maybe five and she had just gotten a new camera and she let me take the first picture of the roll. So I stood up on the table and told her to smile, and she did. When we got the pictures made, she would always tell me that it was the best picture she'd ever taken all because I took it. Thinking back on it, I just think she was surprised a five year old could take a picture like that without it coming out blurry or with one of my fingers in the frame."

Nico looked back at the picture again and could see the off centeredness of it and how Esperanza seemed to be in mid laugh when it was taken.

"She's beautiful, Leo," Nico whispered, looking back at him. Leo's face faltered and his eyes grew sad.

"Was," he corrected. Nico swallowed and closed his eyes as he started to ask the question that sent his nerves tingling with electricity.

"What happened?" Leo's lips pulled up at the corners and he looked at Nico.

"It was a beautiful day," he started, as his eyes grew farther and farther away, "and man, was it hot. It was 95 degrees outside and my mother, she was just so lovely and I was just so stupid; a kid that fucked things up." Leo focused back on Nico, his eyes now showing the beginning stages of tears. "I was a stupid kid and I was playing with fire." He looked away. "Never play with fire, Nico," he whispered, "or else you'll get burned."

Mama, we're all gonna die.

Mama, we're all gonna die.

Nico swallowed hard and looked away from him.

"Why are you telling me this?" he whispered as he glanced back at him. Leo looked up at Nico with his eyes glassy.

"It was a beautiful day like this one." He said it so quietly, with so much sorrow and sadness, Nico almost reached out and hugged him. "I was a stupid kid, okay, and I was playing with matches in the house. My mother was in the garage. It all happened so quick, I-" his voice broke off and he put his head in his hands. Nico slowly closed his eyes as he listened to the muffled sounds of Leo shattering like broken glass. "I never meant for anything to happen," he said, his voice completely wrecked, "I was an idiot." He shook his head and sniffed. He glanced back at Nico with a flash of a smile. "The curtains went up in flames so fast, I didn't even register what had happened until it was too late. The last thing I remember was watching the flames spread to the door of the garage and then waking up on a stretcher with an oxygen mask on as they carried my mother's charred remains from the house." He laughed a sharp laugh that made Nico flinch.

You should've raised a baby girl,

I should've been a better son

"I was all covered in soot and I could barely breathe but man did I scream when I saw her. I could barely recognize her, the tool belt being her only tell. I remember breaking away from the mask and grabbing at the belt before they took her away."

"How old were you?" Nico whispered.

"Five." Nico took in a deep breath.

"You were just a kid, Leo. You can't blame yourself for-"

"But I can! And I do. Everyday of my life, Nico, everyday, I think, 'if you weren't so stupid. If you weren't so dumb, she'd still be alive today.' And you know what?" His voice broke. "It's true." That was when Leo started to sob and that was when Nico decided to hug him because Leo was his friend. One of his only friends and if anyone knew anything about guilt and blame, it was Nico. He felt sad for him and that scared him more than anything.

And when we go don't blame us, yeah.

We'll let the fires just bathe us, yeah.

He willed himself not to think about his own life, of his own mother, of Bianca. He willed himself not to think about all those nights he spent on the streets or in someone else's bed or in the hospital. He couldn't fall apart with Leo hanging on by such a small thread. So he sucked it up and hugged Leo tighter. This was his friend. Which meant, he had to be a friend.

"Leo, it wasn't your fault," he whispered into his hair. "You were a child. You were five, for goodness' sake. You can't live your life in this fog of blame and shame. It'll only kill you inside. You have to move on. You have to seek forgiveness. Not from the man upstairs, not from your mom in the ground but from you, Leo. You have to forgive yourself." Leo started to shake and Nico pulled away, his hands still resting on Leo's shoulders.

Mama, we're all full of lies.

Mama, we're meant for the flies

Leo's head was down, his hair covering his face in an array of shadows. He wiped at his face and flipped to the back of the book, slipping his fingers in between the thin plastic and pulling out a picture.

He showed it to Nico and the picture was heavily burned around the edges. Only a couple of inches of it were spared. The picture was of Esperanza and of Leo, both of them in their overalls and this time, with Esperanza's hair down. She was hugging on Leo and he was grinning at the camera, his brown arms wrapped around her neck.

.

And right now they're building a coffin your size,

Mama, we're all full of lies.

"We took that picture the day she died," he whispered. "She had gone to get it developed the same day. When she got back, she went to the garage to finish working on a car. I didn't even know she was home. I didn't know she was in the garage." He put his head back in his hands. "Nico, I didn't know." He looked up at Nico, his eyes ringed with red, his cheeks wet with tears.

"How is this stuff all here?" Nico asked, looking around the room at the boxes. Leo sniffed and took a deep breath to steady his breathing.

"Eduardo was one of my mother's closest friends. After the fire, since I was already gone away with my aunt, he took all the salvaged things with him." He laughed and motioned towards the boxes. "As you can see, there wasn't much left to be salvaged." He let the smile fade from his face. "After that, I never saw him again and I doubt he even knew where I was or who I was with. By the time I was ten, I had been in three orphanages, two group homes and four foster families. It was hell. It wasn't until I came from the Wilderness school to Camp Half blood that I found him again. It took me months to get my shit together in order to see him and Julio. They barely recognized me." He smiled softly and wiped at his tears.

"Eduardo said you hadn't been here in five years."

"Because I hadn't. It was all too much. Him moving to New York, him sounding like my mother, him having her things, I just-" he trailed off, rubbing his face and pulling his fingers through his hair. He looked at Nico. "I never talk about her. To anyone. The only people who know in the world about her, about me, save for Eduardo and Julio, are Pipes, Jason and Hazel. And Jason and Pipes only know about it because I read them my file and Hazel knows because, well, you know why," he whispered, shrugging it off.

Nico nodded as he remembered the friendship between him and Hazel back at the home and how Leo had had somewhat of a thing for the small girl. Nico tried not to get defensive of her, for although she was his half sister, he had no right acting like he was trying to protect her. When he had left the home, he had left her behind, too, afterall. His ears did perk up at the mention of Piper and Jason, however; he hadn't heard those names in ages. Those were Leo's closest friends, for they all came from the same school, even though Jason was originally from Camp Jupiter. The mention of them sparked something deep within his soul as he remembered that there was a very real chance he'd be seeing them all again-Hazel, Percy, Jason, Piper-in a good twenty four hours.

Nico swallowed hard and looked at Leo who was quietly staring at him.

Nico looked away from him and asked him the same question he had asked him earlier.

"Why are you telling me this now?" Leo shook his head and laughed, opening his mouth wide, the sound bouncing off the dirty walls.

I'm writing this letter and wishing you well,

Stop asking me questions, I'd hate to see you cry,

"Don't you understand?" Leo smile fell from his face like a feather. "It was a beautiful day, like today." Nico shook his head and stared at Leo, who was staring back at him just as contently. He glanced at the charred photo and saw remnants of a digital postmarked date. His eyes widened in shock as he looked back up at Leo's face.

"Today-" Nico swallowed hard, "today, she died," he whispered. Leo nodded again, his eyes turning back into empty glass, his voice shaking with tremors.

"It was a beautiful day like today," he said the last part in a whisper, "and I killed her."

Mama, we all go to hell.

Mama, we all go to hell.


	6. Crush

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one in which Nico gets coffee.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, it's the author speaking. Sorry this took like thirty years to post. I am a lazy bum. Cute, flirty Will awaits you, as promised. Hopefully the next chapter won't take nearly as long to be posted as this one. Author, out.

The walk back to their apartment was unnaturally quiet. Leo was humming a slow tune and Nico was watching him. He wasn’t trying to be obvious about his stares but he started to wonder about the boy walking next to him. He had known Leo briefly at the home; Leo was a loud funny boy that did pranks and set things on fire. He wasn’t the boy who hummed sad tunes and blamed himself for his mother’s death.  
Nico shook his head and looked away from him. Everyone had their secrets, he reminded himself. The thought brought up his chat with Chiron and he immediately ignored the feeling of dread that settled over him. He shook it away and began to enjoy the beautiful day. It was barely noon and already he could feel his stomach growling.  
Once they made it back to their apartment building, Nico turned to Leo. Leo had stopped humming and was just standing there, his hands in his pockets.  
“Look, I think I’m going to go find something to eat,” Nico told him, giving him his dance bag. Leo nodded and took it.  
“No problem. Where ever you go, bring me back something, okay,” he said and started towards the stairs.  
“Leo,” Nico said, closing his eyes. Leo stopped and turned around slowly.  
“It’s not…” he trailed off. Leo smiled weakly and shrugged.   
“It’s okay, Nico. Just...thank you.” Nico nodded and kicked himself for his lack of comforting skills as he watched Leo run up the stairs and disappear into their building. Nico sighed and started walking down the street with no real intention. He actually was hungry but didn’t really know where he wanted to eat.   
He pulled out his phone and started to scroll through his contacts, his fingers hovering over Percy’s name. He stopped himself and locked his phone again, pushing it into his back pocket as he crossed the street. He found himself at a coffee shop in the middle of the late breakfast-early lunch rush.   
The smell of coffee and pastries filled his nose as he stood outside of it. It was crowded inside, people zipping past him, in and out of the restaurant. Nico didn’t like people, let alone crowded places, but he thought the loudness would settle him down some, so he went in.  
The food smell was even more intense inside the coffee shop than outside of it. There were many people; businessman talking on phones, teenagers texting, college students with piles of textbooks and normal unemployed people like him just trying to enjoy a coffee or two. The inside walls were a blue green and many pictures, posters and bookshelves covered them. The counter had four registers and behind it, people in white aprons and blue shirts were making various drinks. There were round tables and booths all over the room and nearly all of them were overflowing with people, drinks and books.   
Nico walked over to the shortest line which was the farthest from the door. In front of him was a mother and a little girl about three or four years of age. She had long dark brown hair and nice blue eyes. Her mother looked just like her. The little girl was talking animatedly about something or other and the mom was just smiling politely, not really understanding the child.  
When Nico went to stand behind them, the girl stopped talking and stared at him. Nico stared back, not sure what to do when a young child was staring at him. He thought about making a face at the girl but then thought better of it, not wanting the mother to turn around and see a grown man making faces at her young daughter. And so he stared.  
After a few moments, the girl started to walk towards him, letting go of her mother’s hand. Nico’s eyes widened as he forced a smile on his face. The girl was about as tall as his thigh and made grabby hands at him as she giggled into a grin. Her front two teeth were missing and her cheeks were a light pink.   
After a few moments, the mother realized that her daughter had turned around and turned around to face Nico. Nico stared at the woman as something nagged at the back of his brain. He knew her face from somewhere...  
The woman smiled nervously at him as she went to grab the child’s hand.   
“Priscilla, leave this poor boy alone,” she said, her deep New York accent swirling into her words. Nico’s brain caught up to the rest of him as he remembered exactly who she was.  
Before his brain could think, he spotted the ring on her left hand and blurted out, “You married Blowfish?” The woman’s eyes snapped up to Nico’s as a wave of recognition crossed her features. A smile broke out and she pulled Nico into a hug.  
“Nico! Oh my! Look at how you’ve grown! When did you get taller than me? When did you get muscle? What happened to that old bomber jacket? How’s your father? Where do you work?” She let go of him and caught her breath. Then she hit him on the arm. “Why haven’t I seen you in...how many years?” Priscilla tugged on her mother’s pants.   
“Mommy?” she blubbered. Sally looked down at her daughter and smiled.  
“This is Nico. He’s one of your brother’s old friends,” she said sweetly. Nico waved to the little girl. She waved back and giggled.  
“Sally, I didn’t know you had another child.” Sally laughed and shook her head.  
“Yeah. Paul and I…” she shook her head again. “You could imagine how surprised I was; let alone how surprised Percy was.” Nico’s smile tightened and he looked away, scratching at his head. Sally noticed the movements and pursed her lips.  
“Don’t tell me you two are still not talking.” Nico didn’t look at her and she sighed, placing her hand on his shoulder. “Oh honey, broken hearts are hard things to mend.” Nico looked back at her and shrugged.  
“I don’t-” he stopped himself and breathed in slowly. “You asked me where I worked?” he forced out, his voice cracking. Sally smiled softly and nodded.   
“I did.”  
“I dance. At Chiron’s dance company.” Her smile broadened.   
“Tell me when your next show is, so I can come see you.” Nico smiled and nodded.  
“I will, Sally.”  
“Next!” the woman behind the counter yelled.   
“Well, that’s me,” she said, grabbing Priscilla’s hand and urging her to the counter. They ordered their drinks and food and Nico stepped up to the line. The woman behind it was short with maroon hair cut into an asymmetrical bob. She was smacking on gum and her green eyes looked bored.   
“What can I-” she started and a loud crash was heard from behind the counters.  
“Rosa!” someone yelled and the young lady rolled her eyes, giving Nico a look before heading towards the noise. There were too many people to see what had happened but Nico was convinced that it was something bad.  
“Dammit, Will!” was heard over the ruckus and chaos and Nico shifted his weight impatiently. He just wanted to get an iced coffee and an egg and cheese biscuit. After a couple of minutes or two, the girl reappeared with an annoyed look on her face. She motioned to somebody Nico couldn’t see as she swiped her card angrily and typed away on the keyboard. A boy appeared next to her and she looked at him.  
“All you have to do,” she started tightly, “is take their order. Don’t touch anything. Don’t do anything but that. Do you think you can handle that, Will? That won’t be too hard, right?” Nico’s eyes shifted towards the boy and blonde hair met his gaze. The boy was smiling down at the girl and his chuckle was low and deep.  
“Rosa, you have so little faith in me. I am hurt,” he said, taking her spot behind the register. Nico’s eyes widened at the boy, as the familiar face looked up at him. At first, Will’s face was blank, but then a grin formed.   
“Nico DiAngelo,” Will said smiling. Nico rolled his eyes and sighed.  
“I just want my coffee. I’ve been standing in this line for way too long.” Will smiled and tapped at the screen in front of him.  
“Sorry about that. It’s like my second day on the job and-” he motioned behind him, “making mocha frappuccinos is a lot harder than it looks.” Nico stared at him with a blank expression.  
“I don’t care,” he murmured. Will chuckled again and ran his hands through his hair. It looked a little damp and the light made the golden strands stand out from all the blue and white that he was wearing.  
“Of course you do,” he said winking at him. 

Something happened for the first time  
Deep inside it was a rush  
What a rush

Nico rolled his eyes and ignored the blush forming on his neck and cheeks. Nico willed himself not to ask but he couldn’t help himself.  
“So, you have two jobs?” Will nodded as he fidgeted with his apron.  
“Yeah. I just moved here maybe a week ago and I needed money,” he said, his accent seeping into his voice. “My landlord is kind of a douche and wanted a down payment right then and there. So I applied for this job the day I got here and Chiron offered me the dancing job a couple of days ago.” He shrugged. “I’ll be getting paid by the middle of next week.” Nico almost smiled.  
“Yeah, if you don’t lose the job first.” Will laughed out loud and the sound filled Nico’s ears. He found himself smiling along with it and wanted to kick himself. Nico diAngelo didn’t blush at winking guys. Nico diAngelo didn’t smile at winking guys’ adorable laughs. And no, Nico diAngelo most definitely did not call winking guys’ laughs adorable. He wiped the smile off his face in a heartbeat.

You got me hypnotized  
So mesmerized

“Look, I just want my coffee and my biscuit,” Nico heard himself saying, his voice deeper than usual. He knew that Leo would have laughed at his attempt at sounding bored. Will nodded as he remembered just exactly what he was supposed to be doing.  
“What it’ll be, Nico?”   
“Iced coffee with two shots of espresso and an egg and cheese biscuit on wheat.” Will puffed out a laugh as he put in the order.  
“Oh how so specific. You get that every time you come here?” he asked, looking at Nico though his eyelashes. Nico noticed how dark brown and long they were. He almost called them pretty. Almost.  
“Actually,” Nico started, shoving his hands in his pockets, “this is my first time here.” Will nodded as he hummed to himself and stared at the screen.   
“Well, now I hope you have a reason to come back,” Will said, a smile in his voice. 

'Cause I'm trying, trying to walk away

Nico acted like he didn’t hear him. After a few moments Nico pulled out his wallet.   
“How much?” Will looked up with a quirky smile.  
“Let’s just say you give me your number and the food and drink are on me.” Nico stopped moving completely and stared at Will. He was grinning at him, his pretty pink lips stretched around his teeth. His eyes were almost sparkling and some of his hair was falling towards his face. Nico had the annoying urge to push his hair out of his face for him, just so he could see if it really were as soft as it looked. Nico cleared his throat and ignored his suddenly dry throat. He swallowed anyway.

But I know this crush ain't going away

“You can’t do that. You have no money,” he said, his voice higher than usual. Will smiled again, and laid his arms across the top of the register.  
“I think it’s a fair trade.” Nico stared at the boy for a few moments before reluctantly swapping his wallet for his phone. He gave the phone to Will, their fingers slightly brushing against each other. Will smiled as he took the phone and put in his number.   
“But, you don’t have my number,” Nico said, taking his phone back.  
“I don’t need it.” Will winked at him. “You’ll call me.” Nico suppressed a smile. 

'Cause the possibility  
That you would ever feel the same way about me  
It's just too much  
Just too much

“Don’t get your hopes up,” Nico stopped himself from turning away, “Solace.” Nico smiled to himself as he walked towards the pick up counter for his food. He had just been flirting! With a guy! A nice, cute guy, with really blonde hair and pretty pink lips! He knew that Leo would be proud. Nico swallowed his giggle as he thought about the new contact in his phone. Butterflies flew around in his stomach as he thought about the next day at the company, where he would most definitely be seeing Solace- Will- again.

Do you catch a breath,  
When I look at you,  
Are you holding back,  
Like the way I do,

“Nico!” he heard a dark skinned man call. He moved closer to the counter as he reached for the brown paper bag and the coffee. Nico spotted Will’s gaze from behind the counter and he could’ve sworn he winked at him-again- as he was ringing up someone else’s order. Nico acted like he didn't see, took his paper bag and walked out the door, humming happily to himself.

Is there more? Is there more?


	7. 100 Ways To Be A Good Boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one in which Leo reads something he's not supposed to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, it's the author speaking :) Sorry for the short chapter...and the long wait. I'm happy you guys keep reading this, though. Leave comments with any ideas or suggestions. I'm always down to listen to you guys. And without further a due, Chapter Seven! Enjoy! Author, out!

Nico's walk back to the apartment was quiet and warm. The temperature had drastically increased and Nico glanced at his phone. It read '1:02'. He shrugged it away and gripped his food tighter, listening to the sounds of the city around him. There were many cars zipping past him on the streets and a lot of people were walking around him. The sound of people talking and horns honking filled his head as he tried not to think about Will or Leo or Chiron. He ran his hand through his hair and scolded himself for being so stupid. Why had he been flirting back with Will like that? It wasn't like it was ever going to become anything more. Once Will saw the real Nico, he'd run away and never look back.

A shot of coldness ran down his spine as he thought about what would happen if Nico let Will in and Will left. Nico shook himself from the thoughts and decided that it wouldn't get so far. He wouldn't let it. Nico had known too much already about not being accepted. He didn't need someone to prove to him what he already knew. He knew that he was broken. He knew that he was empty inside. Some things, people never recover from. Nico ignored the wave of sadness that fell across his shoulders.

By the time Nico had reached the apartment, he had completely brooded himself into a sour mood. He hopped up the stairs and let himself in. The lobby was deserted and smelled of boxes and peppermints. He walked towards the elevators and hit the number three. His hallway was empty and Nico walked all the way down it until he turned right and was met with his apartment door. Nico felt his pockets for his keys and scoffed as he realized that he didn't have them. Nico pulled out his phone and unlocked it. The screen displayed his new contact. It read "Solace" with a sun emoji and a heart emoji. Nico rolled his eyes and found Leo's number.

The phone rang four times before he picked up.

"Let me in," Nico demanded. He could hear Leo chuckling on the other end.

"You forgot your keys, didn't you?" Leo asked. Nico rolled his eyes.

"So what if I did. Just let me in." He heard shuffling on the other line.

"Did you at least get me something?" Nico groaned internally as he realized that he didn't. Leo took Nico's silence as an answer. "Oh my goodness, Nico! I ask for one simple thing and you don't get your best friend any food?"

"Leo, shut up. If you really wanted something, you would've come with."

"I was tired and I thought you'd remember. I'm the irresponsible one, remember? Not you." Nico gripped the food tighter. He was not in the mood for this.

"I see you're back to your usual annoying self. Anyway, are you going to let me in or am I going to have to go downstairs and bother our scary landlord for a spare?" Leo was silent for a few moments and then Nico heard the locks unlocking from the other side. Leo opened the door with his arms crossed.

"Move out of the way, idiot," he said as he hung up the phone. Leo shrugged.

"Sure," and he stepped to the side. Once Nico was through the doorway, Leo snatched the bag from him and kicked the door closed. Nico yelped in surprise.

"Leo! What the hell?" he demanded as he tried reaching for the bag. Leo started laughing and skipped to the kitchen. Nico started muttering to himself as he turned around and locked the door and then followed him into the kitchen. He took a sip of his coffee.

"Do not make me cuss you out in Italian," Nico warned as he entered the kitchen. Nico stopped short once he saw Leo standing in the middle of the room looking at the bag suspiciously. "Dude, what're you-"

"What's this?" Leo asked in a goofy voice. He turned the bag around and Nico saw some sort of scribbled note on the corner of it. Nico immediately started to blush as he realized that the note was from Will.

"Give me that," Nico demanded. Leo backed up and smirked. "Leo, come on, that's not funny."

"Don't forget to call me, Angel," Leo started to read, "from your Sunshine." Leo was sent into a fit of laughter. Nico started to blush harder and he grabbed the bag from Leo.

"You're such a stronzo, sometimes," he muttered. Leo's laughter subsided.

"So, who is this person, Angel," Leo teased. Nico hit him in the chest and reached into the bag for his biscuit.

"Do not call me that, you horrible imp. I can't believe you just did that." Leo shrugged and sat on the countertop. Nico moved to the table and sat in a chair, setting down his drink and biting into the sandwich. Nico's face contorted as he was met with cold bread and eggs. "Because of you, my food if cold." Nico swallowed and shrugged. Once he got past the temperature, the food really wasn't that bad.

"You know you love me," Leo laughed. Nico rolled his eyes and took another bite. After a few minutes Leo spoke up again. "No, but seriously, who is this person?" Nico sighed and crumpled the bag into a ball.

"Are you going to make fun of me?" Leo smiled and shrugged.

"No guarantees," Nico glared at him, "but I'll try my best." Nico sighed and closed his eyes.

"It's this guy from my dance company. He's new and for some dumb reason he likes me." Leo puffed out some air and hopped off the counter. He sat down across from him.

"How cute."

"It's not cute, Leo" he said, opening his eyes. "It's embarrassing." Leo smiled.

"Why?" Nico scoffed.

"Can we just talk about my relationship history? It's a mess. And not just the romantic ones either. The platonic ones are just as bad. I mean, I haven't talked to Hazel in years and she's my fucking sister." Nico groaned. Leo shrugged.

"Well, you can always repair relationships. Isn't that why we're going to Percy's tomorrow?" Nico groaned harder.

"I almost forgot about that," he mumbled. "Should we really go to that? I mean don't they all hate us by now?" Leo grew silent.

"I don't really think that matters. If Annabeth thought enough to actually invite us, I think we should go."

"Yeah, but Chase is always trying to find a solution to a problem that doesn't want to be fixed. I'll bet you three dollars she didn't even tell them she invited us." Leo laughed.

"I ain't gonna argue with that." They grew silent. Nico took a deep breath.

"His name is Will." Leo looked at him and smiled.

"You should give him a chance, Nico. You deserve it." Nico shook his head.

"No I don't. Not really. I'm just going to screw it up like I always do." Leo shook his head.

"Nah, I don't think so. You just have to try, Nico. Stop being so hard on yourself. You're not that bad."

"But I am!" Nico nearly screamed. He closed his eyes.

I caused a major war just by talking

You flew into a rage 'cause that's everything you know

"I've done horrible things, Leo. Shitty things just because I could. I'm not worth him."

"Then what are you worth? Those whores who used you? Those sick bastards that hurt you? Nico, you are not worth that. No one is."

Childhood of violence, filled with heartache

I flew into a rage 'cause that's everything I know

Nico's hands started to shake.

"You don't understand," he whispered.

Still I'm alone, I'm alone, I'm alone, I'm alone

I'm alone, I'm alone, I'm alone, I'm alone

"You're right. Maybe I don't. But I do know that you are a really nice person once you get past all the sarcasm and vague dislike. And I don't know this Will character, but you should at least give him a chance. He seems to really like you." Nico opened his eyes and nodded.

I know one hundred ways to be a good boy

One hundred ways, my willingness to please

"Fine." He took a deep breath. "I'll play nice." Leo smiled and stood up.

"Good. Now, I'm going to go get some pizza since someone neglected to get me food." Nico smiled weakly.

"Yeah, sorry about that." Leo shrugged.

"Whatever. I'll be back." Nico nodded as Leo walked out the kitchen. He heard the locks unlock and the door close. He was alone. Nico sighed as he stood up and threw the food away. He went to his room and saw his dance bag on his bed. He kicked it off and laid down, kicking his shoes off in the process. He read the clock. '1:48.'

"I need to take a nap," he muttered to himself. He reached in his pocket for his phone and unlocked it. He searched his contacts and finally found what he was looking for. The line rang six times before it went to voicemail. Once the beep was heard, Nico took a deep breath.

"Next time, learn to pick up the phone," he laughed. "Anyway, I'm calling you, like you asked. You're welcome. The food was cold, but good…" Nico sighed into the pillow as he struggled to think of something else to say. "I saw your note. Well, actually, my roommate saw it first. I can't believe you called me Angel, like how cheesy is that?" Nico grew quiet again. "I guess that's it then," he breathed. "Can't wait to see you tomorrow," he nearly whispered, and hit the 'end call' button.

Softly I spoke, softly I'm dying

Crushed by your power, by my willingness to bleed


	8. Sleep Like A Baby Tonight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one in which Nico dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~Hey, friends, it's the author speaking. I don't have much to say except that there is physical abuse and references to sexual abuse in this chapter. I just want to warn anyone who may be triggered by these things. This chapter is just a flashback/dream chapter about Nico and Bianca's days at the Lotus Hotel Casino, so feel free to skip it if needed. You've been warned. Author, out! P.S. You can file this under 'Reasons Why I Should Not Be Allowed To Write Fanfics at Two AM After Watching Sad Movies All Day And Crying About My OTPs'...sorry.~

Nico knew it was going to be bad the second his eyes closed.

Dreams

It's a dirty business, dreaming

Where there is silence and not screaming

Where there's no daylight, there's no healing

No, no

His subconsciousness betrayed him and he found himself in a place he hadn't been to in years. The Lotus Hotel Casino. Everything was glowing weirdly, as most things do in a dream. The casino, the one he grew up in, was as busy as usual. Many people whipped past him, ignoring him, doing their own thing. It was loud and busy and Nico fought the urge to cover his ears.

The large room was filled with people. There were two bars on opposing walls and in the middle were large gambling games, poker tables and cash in machines. The front of the room had a desk where people could come and check in, if they wanted to, for a room at The Lotus Hotel upstairs.

When Nico had been younger, he never went upstairs to the actual hotel part. He mostly stayed downstairs in the casino part, sleeping in the back rooms and learning the ways of the casino-at least, until his father put him to work.

Bianca, being three years older than him, had been working before Nico. At the time, Nico didn't really know what Bianca did; she never told him and their father never said. He ignored Nico, mostly, unless he screwed up or made a mess. Hades had always liked Bianca more and if he wanted to tell Nico something, he usually did so through her. This, of course, was fine with Nico. He didn't like his father, to say the least.

But the day he turned twelve, it was all over.

In your dreams everything is alright

Tomorrow dawn's like someone else's suicide

Nico woke up to his sister smiling at him. They slept in the same bed in the back of the casino in a room with no windows. The room's walls were a pasty white and it always smelled like wood and mold. The room was empty except for the sad mattress they slept on and a used wardrobe that held what little clothes they had. On rainy nights, the floors leaked and when it was hot, the walls sweated. When it was cold, everything froze.

When he looked at his sister, her eyes were big and brown with something sad and guilty hidden in them. Her dark hair was in a messy bun on top of her head and the large green shirt hung off her lean frame, exposing her deep collarbones.

"Well hey there, sleepyhead," she said quietly, running her cool hands through his hair. Nico yawned and shifted his weight, forcing the two to sink deeper into the mattress.

"Mornin', Bianca," he slurred. Bianca smiled cheekily and shook her head.

"You've any idea what time it is, Neeks? It's going on six." Nico sat up and stretched.

"Really?" Bianca sat up too.

"Yes, silly. You've nearly slept your birthday away." Nico's eyes widened as he groaned.

"I totally forgot about that," he muttered shaking his head.

"I figured you did," she laughed. Nico looked up at her and smiled.

"You always remember the important things." Bianca tapped the tip of his nose with her forefinger.

"You bet I do. If I didn't, you'd forget your own head!" Nico started to giggle.

"No I wouldn't!" he argued. She smiled at him and rolled off the mattress, her barefeet hitting the cold ground with a thud. Nico followed suit.

He looked down at his body. He was also wearing an oversized shirt that barely hung on to his shoulders. His pale legs poked out from underneath the shirt and his cold toes shifted in the gray socks. The socks were Bianca's and were the only ones either of them had that didn't have holes in them, subsequently, making them the only ones that kept their feet warm at night. Of course, Bianca had given them to Nico, for he had a horrible habit of catching pneumonia in the winter.

"I have a present for you," she started, a smile creeping onto her face. Nico looked up at her and grinned.

"You shouldn't have. You know I would've been fine without one," he told her. She shrugged and reached into her shirt, pulling out a plastic wrapped deck of cards.

"Well, I know you've been wanting these, even though they are extremely lame," she glanced at him, "but I got them for you anyway." She tossed the cards to him. Nico smiled and ripped open the plastic, his hands shaking from excitement.

"You got me Mythomagic cards? No way. I've been wanting these since-since-"

"Forever," she finished for him, "I know. I guess these are your own way of keeping your childhood." Nico put the cards on the bed and smiled up at his sister.

"Thanks, Bi." She smiled down at him and pulled him into a hug.

"Come on, kid," Bianca told him, standing up and walking over to the wardrobe. "Our father is coming today and you know how he gets when we don't look presentable." Nico groaned and stood up, stretching his limbs.

"We don't ever look presentable because we don't have any clothes," he muttered angrily. "And who's fault is that?" Bianca shushed him.

"We make do," she told him, opening the wardrobe and shuffling through the clothes. She threw him a once white button down shirt and too big brown slacks that he had to roll over twice just so that he wouldn't trip over them. She pulled out a dark brown dress that had three different patches sewn over the holes in it. Two of the buttons were missing on it and it was getting too short for her.

Go through the day like knife through butter

Why don't you

The two quickly stripped and changed, ignoring their growling stomachs or their greasy hair, it had been a week since they had taken a proper shower and a couple days since a proper meal. Once they were finished changing, Bianca grabbed Nico's face with her hands.

"What, Bianca?" he asked smiling. She swallowed hard and smiled sadly.

"You know, I love you, right?" Nico nodded.

"Yes, Bianca." Her smile faded.

"Then you'll forgive me?" she asked, her voice hitching quietly. Nico removed her hands from his face, a look of concern crossing his face.

You dress in the colours of forgiveness

Your eyes as red as Christmas

"Why? What's happening?" he asked. She closed her eyes and when she reopened them, her brown eyes were big and glassy.

"You turn twelve today," she trailed off, and shook her head, "and I am sorry for that." Nico cocked his head and opened his mouth to say something, but then the door opened. The two siblings turned and there, standing in the doorway, was none other than their father-Hades.

He was intimidating, to say the least. The shadows seemed to mold around him, giving him an air of death and dread. He was towering over them and was wearing an all black suit with a skull ring on his finger and a chain hanging from his belt loop. His hair was dark and slicked back, his skin as pale as bone. He looked like a walking skeleton- a terrifyingly large skeleton with an air of alarmingly creepiness surrounding him-but a skeleton nonetheless. He looked like a king, really, as if he belonged on a throne of skulls with the souls of the tormented screaming at his feet.

"Hello, father," Bianca whispered, almost bowing in his presence. His black beady eyes glanced at her and then at Nico.

"Daughter," he said. "Son." Nico nodded his head at him.

"Hades," he muttered. The man's face twitched as he strode into the room with one long stride. His hand landed on Nico's shoulder and squeezed.

"You, little boy," his voice as silky as water, "will address me as father or sir." Nico wrenched his body away from him and moved closer to Bianca.

The man smiled, the expression looking odd on his stone face.

"You need to teach this boy some respect, especially if he is to be working for me. I can't have un apprenticed, untrained workers; it's bad for business." Bianca nodded quickly.

"Yes sir," she whispered. Nico turned to her.

"What is he talking about?" he asked. Hades raised his hand and struck Nico across the face, his cheek suddenly burning red hot. Bianca flinched, hard, but managed to keep her grounding.

"Did I ask you to speak?" his voice was unnervingly calm. Nico swallowed hard and fought back the tears threatening to fall from his eyes. He remained quiet. Hades raised his hand again.

"I asked you a question!" he nearly screamed. Nico shook his head from side to side quickly, his hair flopping messily around his head.

"No, sir, you did not." The man smiled again and lowered his hand.

"That's more like it." He turned to Bianca. "He is twelve today, correct?" he asked. She hesitated but then nodded. "Perfect." Bianca took in a deep breath.

"Sir?" she asked, her voice quiet. Hades grunted. "I know that just because we are your children that we do not get any special treatment...but I beg you, can you please spare Nico one more year? He will be more obedient then and will still be well below puberty which I know is appealing to your clientele." Hades looked at Nico through slant eyes, his hands rubbing at his face.

You're gonna sleep like a baby tonight

In your dreams everything is alright

"While you make a good case, twelve is the age that you started working. Why would I treat him any different? Besides, he needs to prove his worth to me somehow, and so far, I am not impressed. Working, I believe, would do him some good. Don't you agree?" Bianca breathed in deeply and glanced at Nico who was silently crying.

"Yes, father," she squeaked, her shoulders slumping, defeated. The man grinned.

"I am glad that we are on the same page." He turned to Nico. "Wipe your face, boy. It is unbecoming when you cry." Nico shuddered and wiped his face and sniffed. "Say goodbye to your sister," he said, grabbing his upper arm. "You're going to have a long night," he smiled, "being a virgin and all." Nico's eyes widened in alarm as he tried to pull his arm away, but he was already being dragged out the door.

Hope is where the door is

When the church is where the war is

Where no one can feel no one else's pain

Bianca then started to cry, the sobs shaking her body heavily.

"Bianca!" he screamed, clawing at Hades' hand. Bianca turned away. Nico screamed again as he was pulled, against his will, into an unknown hell.

It was well past midnight when he returned. He couldn't feel his legs, not really, and he hadn't even bothered to put back on his clothes properly. His cheeks were flushed red and his eyes were dry. After around the third client, he had run out of tears. After the fourth, he stopped screaming. Bianca was at the door when he came. He started to fall, but she caught him.

"Nico, Nico," she was whispering over and over again. He couldn't focus on anything as his head started to pound. She carried him to the mattress and stripped him, pulling the huge t-shirt over his head. He let her, not really feeling anything, not really wanting to.

"How could you?" he whispered, his voice absolutely wrecked. That's when she started crying, the tears hot and wet as they fell from her eyes.

"I know, baby, God, I know. I am so sorry. I couldn't...he was going to…I should've tried harder. I should've tried harder." She was hugging him now, burying her face in his hair and rocking him.

"Bianca?" he asked, his voice hitching as new found emotion made its way through his body.

"Yes, Nico?" He sighed, letting the tears fall, as his body started to shake.

"It hurt," he said into her chest. Bianca sniffed and pulled him closer.

"I know, Nico. I know."

Sleep like a baby tonight

Like a bird, your dreams will take flight

Nico woke up crying.


	9. Hurricane

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one in which Nico realizes something.

Nico hadn't thought about that night, let alone dream about that night, in months. When he woke up, he had completely sweated through his clothes and his face was soaked from tears. He had been crying in his sleep. His room was dark, so he assumed that it was some time in the night. He sniffed and sat up, his head immediately starting to pound.

He rubbed through the covers for his phone and turned it on, the brightness of it temporarily blinding him. '9:17.' And he had one missed call and a new voicemail. He groaned as he locked his phone again. He couldn't think about Will, not with Bianca and that dream still fresh on his mind.

He involuntarily shuddered as he relived that memory. That was the first time he worked for his father and unfortunately it wouldn't be the last. Of course, after that first night, Bianca tried to take most of the clients, lying about Nico's health or status in order to get him out of jobs and making sure he never had to have more than two clients a night. Nico tried not to think about what she probably had to do in order to save him from the horrors of those men.

Of course their father wasn't very pleased, but he was never around long enough to actually do anything about it. And as long as the clients weren't complaining, he didn't push it. Nico had never told anyone about the casino days, ever, save for Hazel, who had experienced something similar down in New Orleans. Their father was a traveling man and apparently had clients all over. Nico shuddered at the thought of other kids being subjected to his father's wrath and being forced to work at twelve.

The whole thing, really, made him feel so dirty. There was a reason why he never spoke about his casino days and there was a reason why Nico never felt comfortable in relationships. He was too scarred and too broken from his time there. The day Annabeth, Grover and Percy stumbled into that wretched building was the day Nico found hope for freedom again. But earlier that day, Chiron had reminded him that he was never truly free. His father was a powerful man and was always around. He knew that Hades never got over the fact that Bianca and he had escaped.

Think the clouds are clogging up my brain

Like the weather drain same as the tears on my face

And I'm stuck up in the storm eye

I guess I'll be alright

Nico breathed in through his nose and out of his mouth as he put his head in his hands. All that thinking was not helping his growing headache. He finally decided that an aspirin would do him justice, so he dragged himself out of bed and into the darkened hall. Almost immediately, he collided with Leo and a string of curses was let out from the both of them. Nico felt along the wall for the light switch and once he successfully located it, he turned it on.

The light was bright and Nico had to squint his eyes in order for them to adjust. The first thing he saw was Leo, looking as dazed and confused as he felt.

"So you're up," Leo slurred, a small grin forming on his face. Nico groaned internally as he spotted the bottle in Leo's hand.

"And you've been drinking," he told him, reaching for the bottle. Leo started to pout and pushed him away. Nico sighed. "Leo, I do not have time for this." Leo started to giggle and then looked up at Nico's face. An expression of concern washed over it as he pouted his red lips.

"Nico," he hiccuped, "have you been crying?" Nico shook his head and rubbed his face.

"Yes, Leo. I had a bad dream." Leo started to giggle again and Nico reached for the bottle, that time, successfully taking it away from the boy.

"Maybe you should call Will," he sang, "I bet he'll make it feel all better." Nico rolled his eyes and led Leo to his room down the hall.

Leo's room was white, like Nico's, but was a lot more messier. There were many blueprints and sketches and random metal parts lying around the room along with dirty clothes and discarded pieces of paper. His room always smelled like motor oil and Nico was pretty sure that some of the things on the floor were alive. Least to say, it was not Nico's favorite room in the house.

Nico led a stumbling Leo to his bed and pushed him down, sliding the covers over him.

"Let me have my juice back," Leo pouted, reaching for Nico's hands. Nico held it up and shook his head.

"That's enough juice for one night; you'll thank me in the morning." Leo started to whine and Nico ignored it, turning around and turning off the light.

"Good night, Leo," he told him and closed the door. Nico found himself in the hallway alone. He sighed and shuffled to the bathroom, the bottle still in hand. He opened the mirror and found the aspirin bottle. He popped two pills out of it and put them in his mouth, ignoring the sour taste they left on his tongue.

He swirled the bottle around and downed whatever was left in it, swallowing the pills as well. He screwed up his face from the taste of the alcohol and then burped.

"That was probably not a good idea," he muttered to himself, already feeling the dullness in his head and the warmth spread into his chest. He closed the mirror back up and threw the bottle in the trashcan, turning the light off as he went. He found himself back in his room, in the dark, staring at nothingness.

I'm flopping on my bed like a flying squirrel

Like a little boy hurt by the big bad world

Yeah, it's twisting up my insides

Can't hide it on the outside

Nico knew that this was the beginning of the bad days. It only took one sour mood too many to send him spiraling down a path of self hatred and self destruction, a path he knew all too well. The last string of bad days had been months ago. It had landed him in the hospital for a solid week and a half, his food being fed to him through a straw, his body too weak to even stand. He had been smoking cigarettes instead of eating and swallowing pills as some sort of sick punishment. It took Leo a month to figure out what he was doing and once he finally did find out, he checked him into the nearest hospital without much resistance.

Leo had been disappointed, to say the least. He didn't understand why Nico was so hell bent on killing himself and Nico was too scared to tell him. He knew that there was something deeply wrong with him, yes, but admitting that fact, out loud, to another person, was on a completely different level. The only person who'd even remotely understand would be Hazel, but, like everything else in his life, he had screwed that up to.

The thought of Hazel reminded Nico of the party the following night. He was going to have to face her, and not only her, but the others too. Nico shuddered.

"Another problem for another day," he sighed and fell into his bed, finding his phone. He turned over to lay on his back as he unlocked his phone and opened up the new voicemail. Of course, it was from Will.

And you're that wind that swept me off my feet

Got me flying til I'm crying and I'm down on my knees

That's what Dorothy was afraid of

The sneaky tornado

"I knew you'd call," he heard Will's voice say. Nico fought the smile that came across his face as he heard Will's soft chuckle through the line. "Sorry I missed you, though. I was still working. Speaking of work, I am glad you got my message, and no, Angel, I don't think that it was cheesy." Nico shook his head as he groaned at the nickname. "Anyway, next time you call, I'll be sure to pick up." There was silence for a few seconds. The next time Will spoke, his voice was in a false whisper. "Hint: you should call," and the line went dead.

Nico stared at the phone for a few minutes, debating on what he should do. He could easily give Will a call and distract himself from his horrid thoughts about his sad life. Or he could ignore the message and wait until tomorrow, like he said he would. Nico frowned at himself. He couldn't believe that he actually wanted to call Will. He wanted to call him; and not because Will had asked him to-although that was a good enough reason- but because he wanted to hear his voice. He wanted to hear his laugh.

Every time he smiles

I let him in again

Everything is fine

When you're standing in the eye of the hurricane

Nico almost threw up.

"Shit," he muttered as the horrible realization hit him. He had a crush. Nico couldn't believe himself. The last time he had had a crush, it was on Percy and that turned out just peachy. Yep, not speaking to him for nearly five years and despising his very existence was a great and healthy way to communicate feelings. Nico groaned.

But this wasn't Percy. This was Will. Will. A boy who liked him first. A boy who was from the south and had blonde hair and nice eyes and pretty pink lips and worked at his job. A boy he actually had a chance with. Nico ran his hand through his hair. Was this real? Or was it all some sick joke? Will obviously didn't like him; he didn't know him. Then again, everyone starts off not knowing each other.

You tell me that you know me, I'll never be lonely

Maybe if Nico gave him a chance like Leo said…

"You're a fucking idiot," he told himself out loud. He stared at his phone, the contact and number burning holes into his skull. "You do stupid things like crush on green eyed boys three years older than you or desert the only living family you have left or starve yourself to feel pain or fuck things for money and you wonder why," he muttered, grabbing at his hair, "bad things happen to you. You wonder why Bianca left, you wonder why Hades disowned you, you wonder why your only friend is Leo," he shook his head, "it's because you're a fucking idiot. And even though you know bad things happen to you, even though you know you do not deserve love or happiness, you are going to call this pretty pink lipped boy and talk to him. You are going to get butterflies in your fucking stomach every time he laughs and you're going to hope to God that Chiron pairs you up with him for the performance." He chuckled dryly to himself as he pressed the call button and brought the phone up to his ear. "You fucking idiot."

Here comes the sun, here comes the rain

Standing in the eye of the hurricane


	10. You Don't Have To Tell Me, It's Okay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one in which Nico is late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~Hey, it's the author speaking :) Sorry, loves, but no song this chapter :( BUT next chapter there's like five so I'll make it up to you. So enjoy this little filler chapter and hopefully next chapter will be up before the end of the week...you're welcome ;) Author, out.~

Nico woke up with a start. He gasped into consciousness as he blinked his eyes open. For a few moments, everything seemed blissful and calm, until he realized that it wasn't his phone alarm that woke him. He shook his head and sat up quickly as he took in his surroundings. Everything was bright. The sun was shining on everything...The sun never shone this bright at seven am. Oh wait.

Nico hopped out of bed and opened his door to look into the hallway. He heard noise coming from the kitchen and so he walked to it. Sure enough, Leo sat at the table with nothing but his boxers on eating a bowl of cereal.

"Leo," Nico started, his eyes wide, "what time is it?" Leo shrugged and grabbed his phone from the table, showing Nico the time. '8:19.' Nico's eyes widened. "Shit! Why didn't you wake me?" he asked, turning away and running into his room. He heard Leo get up and follow him.

"Because, Death Breath, every time I attempt to wake you, you try and murder me. Sorry that I didn't feel like dying today." Nico scoffed and glared at the boy as he stood in his door still eating his cereal. Leo gave him a face and Nico rolled his eyes.

He rummaged through his drawer for something suitable; he was still wearing the day before's clothing. His hands found a black and gray flannel and black sweat pants. Immediately, he started stripping, his mind wandering elsewhere.

Why hadn't his alarm gone off? He had his phone set for seven am Monday through Friday. It should have went off. Nico slipped his arms through the shirt and buttoned the middle two buttons before stepping into the pants. He turned around and patted the sheets for his phone. Finally, he found it and pressed the lock button. Nothing happened.

"What the hell?" he muttered. He heard Leo laughing from the doorway.

"Hey, Ghostie, it's dead." Nico turned to him.

"What are you talking about? My phone shouldn't be," he trailed off as he remembered the night before. He had woken up from his nap and called Will. He had called Will and they had spent the entire night talking. He fell asleep talking to him which was why he didn't remember to put his phone on the charger which is why his alarm didn't go off. "Crap," Nico muttered. Leo smiled at him and nodded.

"Yeah." Nico turned to him.

"Wait, how did you know my phone would be dead?" Leo shrugged and scooped a spoonful of the cereal into his mouth.

"Well, I didn't. I just heard you talking all night long on it. When it got quiet, I assumed you had put it on the charger and went to sleep. When you didn't wake up at seven, I just thought you were allowing yourself to get some extra shuteye." Nico groaned. Of course Leo thought that. Nico sighed and threw the phone and his charger into his dance bag.

He shouldered the bag and walked towards the door.

"Excuse me, Leo," he said, allowing the agitation to seep through his voice. Leo grinned and stepped aside.

"Sorry, Sleeping Beauty," he said. Nico flipped him off as he headed into the bathroom to brush his teeth. Leo followed him and took his place in the doorway, slowly munching on his Frosted Flakes. Nico ignored him for a few moments, turning the water on and putting the toothpaste on his toothbrush.

"Can I help you?" Nico asked, shoving the toothbrush in his mouth and looking away from him. Leo stopped chewing and waited for Nico to look back at him.

"Did I imagine it, or were you crying last night?" Nico stopped brushing and stared at Leo. How could he remember that? He was halfway drunk.

"Uh," Nico started. Leo nodded his head as some sort of confirmation.

"Is it getting bad again?" Leo asked, his eyebrows raising. Nico rolled his eyes and looked away, opting to resume his brushing.

He couldn't tell Leo about the dream or what Chiron had reminded him about. He just...couldn't. All Leo would do is worry and Nico didn't want that. He was fine, really. He just had a bad day and an even worse night. But of course, that's how it always started; just one bad day, just one bad night until the bad days and nights turned into bad weeks and months and suddenly Nico wouldn't be able to breathe anymore. Nico shuddered at the thought.

"It was just a bad dream," Nico muttered, spitting into the sink. Leo squinted his eyes at him as he wiped off his mouth.

"Really? What was it about?" It was Nico's turn to squint his eyes as he made to leave the restroom. Of course, Leo blocked his way. "Well?" Nico rolled his eyes.

"Valdez, I am already late. You do not need to make me anymore late by asking silly questions. It was just a bad dream." Leo stared at him for four seconds before sighing and moving out of the way.

"Fine, don't tell me. But if I find one pill, Nico, if I see one cigarette butt, I will-"

"What?" Nico asked, his irritation getting the best of him. He knew that Leo was worried, and that he had every right to be, but he couldn't stop the words that came out of his mouth no matter how he tried. "Check me in to the hospital?" he asked, venom seeping into his voice. "Please. You can barely check yourself into an AA meeting. You don't scare me. You're freaking out over nothing. It's the damn alcohol talking-not like you'd know the difference. You're always drunk, anyway." Leo stared at him with wide eyes, his lips placed into a straight line. Then, suddenly, his lips tilted up, but his eyes stayed just as hard as they were.

"And so it begins," he whispered and turned away from Nico, heading towards his room. Nico scoffed and walked past, heading towards the door. His hand was on the door knob when he heard Leo's voice. "And don't forget your fucking keys this time!" and he heard Leo's door slam shut. Nico sighed. He turned around and found his keys on the table. He pocketed them and walked out the door.

He ran to the subway station, ignoring his grumbling stomach or his itchy skin. He'd take a shower and eat after work. It took him five minutes to get to the subway and as he jumped over the turnstile, he saw the train pull up. He grinned. It was the 8:45 train. Luckily, he hadn't missed it, or he would have had to take the 9:00 one. At least this way, he'd maybe still be on time.

The train, however, was crowded as he pushed his way in and he was forced to stand, hanging on to the metal bar above for support. A lot of people were on it, ranging from grumpy high schoolers, to old people in retirement. It wasn't necessarily loud but it wasn't quiet either. Most people had their ears plugged in listening to music, others were talking on the phone or were texting. He spotted a couple of homeless people in the corner sleeping and across from him a woman with bags under her eyes was rocking a sobbing baby. He rolled his eyes as the train pulled away. He was not in the mood for this.

His mind started to wander back to Leo. He had been exceedingly rude this morning and groaned internally at his actions. He couldn't believe himself. Leo was just being...well, Leo. He was worried about him and Nico couldn't blame him. If he admitted it to himself, he was getting bad. Bianca's birthday was in two weeks and his past was starting to haunt him again. Nico shook his head. He needed to fix it.

His hands itched as he remembered that his phone was dead. He wouldn't be able to apologize to Leo until after his phone was charged and Chiron let them take a break, which of course, was highly unlikely. They were starting the new choreography today, after all. Nico had to admit, despite his nonchalant demeanor, that he was excited for the new show. It was written by Chiron and Chiron's shows were always the best.

He sighed as he thought about what Chiron had told him about wanting Nico to be a lead. It made Nico smile inside. Dancing, he felt, was the only time in his entire life between people and relationships and his past where he wasn't a total screw up. When he had first run away from Camp Half blood, he had gotten lost and went to his father, out of all people, for comfort.

Of course, Hades had been anything but.

Nico shuddered at the memory. He had been young and naive and scared and angry. Hades had used that fire to his advantage, convincing him to do horrible things to the people that he loved. Somewhere inside him, Nico knew that it wasn't his fault. Hades had used him for his own evil doings but still, it made Nico feel guilty. If he hadn't been so angry, if he hadn't been so stupid, he wouldn't have listened to his father in the first place. Nico shook the thoughts from his head as the train pulled to his stop.

He gripped his bag and glanced over his shoulder at the young woman on her phone. It read '9:03.' Nico sighed as the doors pulled open and readied himself for a sprint.

Nico reached the building at 9:07, sweaty and out of breath. Rachel was at her desk, chewing on a pencil as she sketched something onto her notepad. She looked up at him with her green eyes and chuckled.

"Late night?" she asked. Nico groaned as he grabbed the pen attached to the desk and signed himself in.

"Blow me, Rachel," he told her, his lungs burning. The girl laughed, her voice filling up the empty area.

"Oh please. You and I both know Chiron will do a great job fucking you over without me," she told him. She tapped at her watch with her pencil. "You're late." Nico rolled his eyes and willed himself down the hall.

"No shit, Sherlock," he muttered and made his way to the stairwell.

He reached the room thirty seconds past 9:08 and Chiron was in the middle of talking with the group of dancers. Everyone was intrigued with what he had to say and was barely paying attention to him as he slipped into the room. He only caught the tail end of what he was saying.

"-and I want nothing but the best from you all. I will be choosing the leads based off of what you all show me today and next week. Everyone will know, for sure, their part by next Friday." If Nico didn't know any better, he'd say Chiron was making them audition for the leads. Chiron clasped his hands together and grinned. "Now, we're going to do a little freestyle competition." Everyone started to murmur as they broke away from the circle.

Nico ran to the wall where he threw down his bag and opened it, looking for his dance shoes. They were doing freestyle competition, which was Nico's favorite exercise. The whole idea was not thinking about what you were doing. Chiron would put his phone on shuffle and whatever song came on was the song they danced to. Sometimes the competition could be one on one or boys versus girls or anything, really. It never really mattered and no one ever planned it. The rule was no using choreographed things and basically that was it. Feel the beat, challenge someone and do what you want. Usually Chiron would just walk around and watch and often times he'd change the song before it ended or start songs in their middle.

Least to say, Nico was excited. As he slipped his shoes on and plugged in his phone, Chiron approached him. His legs glimmered silver as he put his hands on his hips. Nico swallowed and stood up slowly.

"Yes?"

"You were late," Chiron said. Nico's face grew hot. He didn't want to have to explain why he was late. Actually, he was hoping Chiron hadn't even noticed him coming in.

"I…" Nico trailed off. Chiron quirked his eyebrow. Suddenly, Nico saw a flash of yellow out of the corner of his eye and then Will was there, cheesing with dimpled cheeks and bright eyes.

"Chiron?" he asked, his voice light and happy, "what exactly is freestyle competition?" Nico stared at Will with an open mouth. Will glanced at him with a grin and winked and then was back to staring at Chiron with curious eyes.

"Don't think that this is over," Chiron told him, pointing at his chest. Chiron stared at Nico for a moment longer as he swallowed and then he turned away, smiling at Will.

"I'm sorry, Will. I should have explained more…" Nico used the opportunity to slip past them and silently thanked Will for the escape. He couldn't help thinking about the night before. He had called Will and he had answered on the third ring. At first, it was weird; Nico never called people, but soon the conversation came easy.

He was just lying in his bed, his phone next to him on his speaker phone as he listened to Will talk.

"So, as you probably guessed, I am nowhere from here," he had said chuckling into the phone.

"Where are you from then?" Nico had asked lightly. He heard Will sigh into the phone.

"Georgia." Nico laughed quietly.

"Gross. It's so hot down there."

"It's so cold up here!" Will had said defensively.

"Then why'd you leave." Silence. "Solace?"

"Yeah, Nico, I'm here. I guess it was just time to go is all." Nico had nodded and turned towards his phone.

"It's okay. You don't have to tell me." Silence. "Do you miss it?" Will had chuckle into the phone.

"I've only been here maybe two weeks. I ain't have enough time to miss it yet." Nico had shrugged into his pillow.

"It doesn't ever take very long to miss home," he had said quietly. Silence.

"Well, I do miss someone." Nico had perked up at that, his heartbeat suddenly getting extremely fast. He had swallowed and forced his voice to stay even.

"Who?"

"Lou Ellen," he had said. Nico sighed. Of course Will was missing some girl. She was probably extremely pretty and head over heels for Will and despite evry fiber in his body, Nico found himself feeling envious.

"Then why'd you leave," he had forced out.

"It was just time to go is all," he had said again. "Just time to go."

Nico felt someone tap him on the shoulder. He turned around to find a grinning Octavian. Nico rolled his eyes.

"Dude, what do you want," Nico groaned. Octavian's eyes sparkled.

"I just noticed that you were late." Nico looked at him with dead eyes. "Did you have a long night?" Nico nodded.

"Yes, Octavian. I may or may not have gotten laid, but of course you wouldn't know anything about that, now would you?" Octavian grinned.

"You're right. I know nothing about being a whore." Nico blinked slowly as he felt a burning sensation in his chest and ears and suddenly, he was being pulled backwards. Nico turned around at the force and saw Will.

"What the-"

"You looked like you were about to punch that kid," Will told him, his eyes wide and concerned. Nico shrugged.

"So?"

"I just saved your ass from Chiron's wrath. I don't want to have to do it twice." Nico rolled his eyes.

"No one asked you to."

"You don't have to ask to be saved, Nico. Besides, you looked like you were going to kill that kid with nothing but your stare alone. What did he even say to you?" he asked. Nico looked back at Octavian who was grinning like crazy. Nico had the overwhelming suspicion that Octavian was the child that cut off stuffed animals' heads when he was younger and decorated his room with the headless animals. Nico shuddered.

"He was just talking shit," Nico muttered. Will touched his shoulder and Nico flinched away from it.

"Why are you touching me?" Nico asked, instinctively. Will's eyes grew wide as he chuckled nervously.

"No reason. I was just going to say it seemed like he was doing a lot more than just shit talking. But it's okay," he shrugged slightly, "you don't have to tell me." Nico narrowed his eyes at him as Will started to smile.

"Solace-"

"Alright, let's get to it," Chiron announced from the front of the room. The young adults shuffled to the space and readied themselves. Many bounced on the balls of their feet, shaking out their body and breathing deeply. Many were just waiting for the music to start, already turned to who they were going to dance against. Will grabbed Nico's arm and turned him towards him with a grin.

"What're you-"

"Come on," Will told him, chuckling. Nico shook his head.

"Have you ever even done this before?" Will grinned and shrugged.

"Let's find out, shall we?"


	11. World, stop...Carry on

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one in which Nico beats Will and Will calls him pretty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~Hey, it's the author speaking :) Well the chapter is up before the end of the week as promised. This is the first time I'm writing dance movements so bare with me. If it's horrible, I'll change it, or, you know, never do it again haha. So enjoy the tension between Will and Nico and then the flirting that commences at the end. Author, out! (P.S. if you're in America, HAPPY FOURTH :P)

Nico stared at Will with a smile. He actually wanted to see exactly how good of a dancer Will was. Whatever Chiron was about to play, no one would be able to predict. Usually it was fast and upbeat music, usually in the form or rap or hip hop because those were the easiest songs to freestyle with.   
Nico shook out his hands and unbuttoned his flannel, exposing his chest. Will grinned at him and openly looked at him. He ran his hair through his hair and then stretched upwards, exposing his lean torso. He was wearing a grey hoodie like crop top. It had a hood and long baggy sleeves but the end of it was cut off right before it got to his waistband. And when he stretched like that, everything was exposed. Nico forced his eyes away.  
He heard Will chuckle as Chiron raised his voice.  
“Alright dancers, show me what you got.” A heavy silence filled the room and for a moment, everything was still. But then the music began to play.

Bang bang there goes your heart (I know ya want it)  
Back, back seat of my car (I'll let ya have it)

He saw everyone around him start moving almost immediately. Nico started nodding his head, looking at Will. He experimentally moved his hips as Will shook out his arms and started moving his feet along the ground.

Wait a minute lemme take you there (ah)  
Wait a minute till ya (ah)

Will started walking towards Nico, kicking his legs up behind him while also bobbing his head to the beat. A smirk was on his face and he winked as Nicki Minaj’s voice filled the room.

It's Myx Moscato  
It's friends in the bottle  
It's Nicki full throttle  
It's all, all

Will threw up his arms and crossed them above his head, snapping his head to the right. Then he stepped out and brought his arms down in a pumping motion as he slid to the right, his hips thrusting to the beat.

Swimming in the grotto  
We winning in the lotto  
We dipping in the pot of blue pho-to

He slid back to where he had been before and pushed his arms out and pulled them in slowly, making a twisting motion while he puffed out his chest, simultaneously dragging his left leg in a semicircle to the side of him, his feet eventually landing back together. He then turned around, his hands finding his head, as he shook it from left to right while also dipping his body down and back up in one quick motion.

Kidding so good  
This drippin' on wood  
Get a ride in the engine that could go

He turned back around just as quickly and went up on his right foot while bringing up his left leg in the process. His arms went up with him and then he was back down, his body in squatting position as his arms moved to the side of him. He pushed his right arm towards his pelvic area and then his left arm while his feet made walking motions. He stopped moving and posed with one hand on his hip and the other on the side of his head with his hip popped out.

Batman Robin it bang, bang, cocking it  
Queen Nicki dominate, prominate

He moved his arms down to his hips and rotated his lower body around in a quick semicircle, with his mouth hanging open as he winked at Nico who stood watching his movements. They were insanely quick and on beat and all Nico could do was watch in awe. 

It's me, Jessie, and Ari  
If they test me they sorry  
Riders umph like Harley  
Then pull off in this Ferrari

He pushed his left leg in front of his right and turned to the right with his hands on his hips, his body pulsing to the beat, as he turned fully around again. He popped his left shoulder back and looked at Nico and then was back to facing away from him. He straightened his arms out and pushed them diagonally to each side of him, his head cocking in the opposite direction. He jumped back around and pushed his feet out with a swing of his arms and then did it again, his body traveling in a circle as his arms pushed back into his chest and then out again. 

If he hangin' we bangin'  
Phone rangin', he slangin'  
It ain't karaoke night but get the mic 'cause I'm singing (uh)

He then twisted all the way around and pushed his feet together, bending his legs at the knees. He put his right hand on his hip as his left hand swung back and forth as he crouched forward at his hips. He opened and closed his knees along with the beat, slowly moving his feet in the opposite direction. Then he turned to the side and raised on arm up as he pulled his shoulders back and forth.  
Then the song stopped and Will stopped moving, his chest rising and falling with every breath. Nico smirked as he cracked his knuckles and the next song filled his ears.

Me and my boo in my boo coup ridin'  
All up in that black with his chick right beside him  
Ladies, if you love your man show him you the fliest  
Grind up on it, girl, show him how you ride it

Nico placed his hand on his hip and shifted to his side, pulsing his hips backwards with the beat as his free hand swinging back and forth. He leaned towards the direction he was already leaning in and raised his right foot and kicked it in front of him, his head turning to face Will with a grin. He walked backwards in between the beat, his arms above his head bent at the elbows, his hands in fists, as the snapped back and forth with the words. He turned fully towards Will and brought down his left hand across his face and to his side as he pushed to the right. He brought both arms back towards his chest and placed them on top of each other, and pushed them up then down and then back up again as he moved his head back and forth.   
He jumped up on his tip toes as his arms flew above his head and spun around, rolling his head around and then brought his hands down into a v shape under his chin. He then snapped his head towards Will and stepped back with his left foot while popping his hips in time with the beat. He brought down his hands as he made his body move like a snake as he backed up slowly. Then he popped his tailbone back and forth to the beat as he dropped to the ground and came back up.

Me and my boo and my boo lip lockin'  
All up in the back cause the chicks keep flockin'  
All that gossip in 10 years stop it!  
London speed it up, Houston rock it!

He bent over at his hips and placed his arms over each other again as he forced them up and down with the beat, a little bit of his hair starting to fall into his face. He turned around and moved his hands along with his hips and pushed his right arm away from him and snapped it back, his head snapping to the left. Then he dropped his hand and let it rest on his head as his left hand went behind his back. He swayed back and forth as he backpedaled closer and closer to Will. He pushed his arms out and they made the shape of and s on its side, and he did the move again, this time alternating which arm was on his head and which arm was behind his back.   
He turned around and jumped and then turned the other way and jumped, bringing his arms in front of him and moving them up and down. He pushed his left foot out and twisted his hips along with his arms and and grinned at Will who was just staring wide eyed. He then pushed out his arms interchangeably and backed up, swinging his head from one side to the other and then slid to the left and put his right hand on his hip while his left arm went into the air. He snapped his head to the words and then spun around. 

Oh, killing me softly and I'm still falling  
Still the one I need, I will always be with you  
Oh, you got me all gone, don't ever let me go  
Say it real loud if you fly  
If you leave me you're out of your mind

He moonwalked sideways back to where he started, his arms moving with him, and turned to face Will. He pushed his arms on top of each other again and moved them in a circle in front of him, allowing his hips to move with them. He then slid to the right and brought up his left knee along with his arms and leaned to the right until he moved back down to the left with a swing of his arms. He stood up and hooked his thumb into his waistband as he crossed his feet in front of him, sliding back to the right. He snapped to the left and pushed his hands into his chest, and took two steps in that direction.   
He pushed his hands out above him and moved them in a circular motion and then brought them back down as he bent forward at the hips. He reached his hands up again and pulled them back down and then back up, allowing his body to move with them as if something were pulling him. He swung his head down and back up, running his hands down his bare chest as he backed away from Will. Then he jumped back up, grabbed his crotch and did the Charlie Brown with one hand holding onto his hair. Then he slid towards Will, moving his hips widely from side to side.

My baby is a 10  
We dressing to the 9

Nico pushed his right shoulder forward and then his left shoulder forward while walking backwards along to the beat.

He pick me up, we 8

He pushed both of his hands to the floor and bent his body at the hips and then snapped back up.

Make me feel so lucky 7

He pushed his hands into the air, alternating between them and then grabbed his knees and popped his hips back and forth.

He kiss me in his 6

He popped his torso back and forth as he brought his hands spread eagled across his chest.

We be making love in 5

Nico put his hands on his knees and bent them, popping his pelvis back and forth to the beat.

Still the one I do this 4

He brought his hands and body up and bent his right arm at the elbow and pushed it towards his chest. He did the same thing with his left and then stepped forward with each time.

I'm trying to make us 3  
From that 2  
He still the 1

He then put his arms by his side and swiveled his hips to the left and then to the right and bent all the way down at his hips at the last word of the song. He looked back up at Will who had his eyes narrowed at him. Nico grinned and winked as he caught his breath. Will looked at him through the side of his eye as he sucked his teeth, making his cheeks cave in. He ran his hand through his hair and he nodded his before starting to dance to the next song.

I know I exaggerated things, now I got it like that  
Tuck my napkin in my shirt, cause I'm just mobbin' like that  
You know good and well that you don't want a problem like that  
You gone make someone around me catch a body like that

Will turned to the left and pushed down with both of his hands. He slid to the right, pushing his hands to the left and brought them to his chest in an x position as he leaned his head to the right. He brought his left arm back out and put his right arm down, stepping forward to the beat and crossing his arms below his waist. Then he stood back up straight and pushed his arms out in front of him, slowly flexing his hands before bringing them back to his body and pushing out his chest to the beat and bringing his hands to his hips.  
He pushed his right arm to the left and brought it back to his mouth and turned to Nico. He leaned to the left with his left arm still outstretched and brought it back to his mouth to join the right one and went up on his tip toes. He bent down and brought his hands from his knees back up to his chest and and pulsed to the beat and slid to the right. He let his hands go down his torso as he stepped to the right and turned his knees outwards and then back in. He snapped his left arm out in front of him and cocked his head to the left while sliding back to where he had been. He then bent and pointed to the ground and then went back up like a spring. 

No, don't do it, (aye) please don't do it, (aye) cause one of us goes in  
And we all go through it (aye)  
Drizzy got the money, so Drizzy gonna pay it  
Those my brothers, I ain't even gotta say it  
That's just something they know

He rest his hands on his head and then brought them out in front of him, slowly wagging his forefingers in Nico’s face. Then he snapped his arms back, his right one going towards his chest, and the left one going diagonally towards the ground as he stepped back. He brought his arms out along with his chest and then pulled it back in, sliding his left leg to the left. He gripped the top of his waistband and moved his chest in a circle as he pulled his head down and then back up, his golden hair swinging with it.   
He then stood back up and crossed his left arm in front of his chest and slid to the right as his right arm bent towards his chest. He bent his left arm and let them hover above each other as he hopped to the right and moved his legs together as one. He turned to the left and swung out his arms and then brought them back, doing the same thing to his left. He spread out his arms and then pushed them forward as he jumped back, kicking out his right foot. He bent forward and walked towards Nico, popping his left elbow and then his right one. He put his hands up in front of him and pushed back and leaned to the left. Then he grinned and took his left hand and made a swirl motion and pointed to his temple.  
Nico nodded his head at Will as Will smiled and ran his hand through his hair. He winked at him and Nico rolled his eyes as he stretched his arms upwards. He turned to Chiron who was already starting to play the last song.  
“Last one,” he called out as the lyrics filled the room.

I'm feelin' myself, I'm feelin' myself  
I'm feelin' my, feelin' myself  
I'm feelin' myself, I'm feelin' my, feelin' my, feelin' myself

Nico grabbed at his waistband with both hands and moved them up and down with the beat as he backed away from Will. He then slid to the right and snapped his left hand in front of him while his right hand held on to his pants. He backed up sideways and moved his hips to the beat. He jumped to the right and swung his hands in a circular motion around his head. When he landed he popped his hip and then turned fully towards Will, backing up as his right hand found his crotch. Then he lifted his left leg up and pushed to the left with his right hand while leaning to the right. 

I'm feelin' myself, I'm feelin' myself  
I'm feelin' my, feelin' myself

He slowed himself down and grabbed his waistband again, slowly rotating his hips as a smile creeped onto his face. He turned to the right and brought his hands above his head and brought them down, bending his body as he did. Then he slid back to the left, his hands closing around his chest and put his left hand behind his head and his right arm all the way to his right as if he were pushing off of a wall. He pushed his hands to the ground and then back up, jumping with it and then slid back, pushing his hands out in front of him. He then bent his knees and rolled his arms over the other like he was doing the karumba. 

Changed the game with that digital drop  
Know where you was when that digital popped

He grabbed his crotch again and crossed his foot over the other as he made his way to the right. Then he twisted his lips and jutted his left hip out and turned around and slid his hands down his torso and thighs. He pushed his hands to the left and slid back to the right. He stepped back to the left and wiped shook his hands by his shoulders as if he were wiping off dirt and then bent down at his waist and came back up with his arms above his head. 

I stopped the world  
Male or female, it make no difference  
I stop the world, world stop…

Then he jumped back to the right and pushed his right hand out in front of him. He pulled both of his hands back to where his fists were at his waist as he time stepped backwards. He turned to the right and brought his arms out in front of him, popping them and his body along with the beat as he backed up. He then stretched to the left as he turned back to Will and stepped forward and turned around completely with his hands by his side as the words “World stop,” filled the room.  
Nico grinned at Will and brought his right hand up in a circular motion until the heel of his hand was by his bottom lip.  
“Carry on,” Nico mouthed as he heard the song cut off. Nico immediately started laughing as Will started to grin and back away from him. Everyone around him started to clap, being happy about their little exercise. “I think I won,” Nico told Will with a grin. Will shook his head and grabbed the back of his head.  
“Nah, I would’ve won if there was one more song.” Nico laughed.  
“Just admit it; that last song was great.” Will squinted at him with a smirk and finally broke down.  
“Fine.” Nico laughed and then started to bounce his shoulders up and down to the nonexistent music.  
“Kitty on fleek; pretty on fleek,” he started saying, snapping his fingers to the words. Will chuckled and playfully pushed Nico.   
“Although you are pretty, next time, I will end you.” Nico stopped moving and stared at Will with wide eyes.  
“Did you just call me pretty?” Nico asked him, a funny feeling filling his chest. Will grinned and stepped up into Nico’s personal space.  
“Maybe,” he said, his voice low as he bit his lip. Nico laughed nervously and then cleared his throat, blushing at the noise that had just escaped his lips.  
“I’m Nico diAngelo. I’m not pretty; I’m malicious.” Will smiled and nodded his head.  
“Yeah, sure thing, you’re totally malicious...if malicious came funsized and wrapped in fluff.” Nico blushed even harder, which, for the record, he thought was impossible.  
“What? I am-am not fluffy. I am-I’m scary!” he sputtered. Will started to laugh again, this time, the laugh filling the space. It was long and deep and it made Nico smile, it was so infectious. Nico groaned internally at himself. He couldn’t believe Will was making him blush and stutter, especially after he had just beat him in a dancing competition dancing to songs about sex and sex and more sex. Will shook his head.  
“Nico you’re cute. With the hair and the big dough eyes,” he said motioning to his face, “I mean come on. How can someone not crush on that? And the fact that you try and act so hard, it just adds on to the preciousness.” Nico started to pout.  
“I am not precious. I’m intimidating, dammit!” The last part he said really loud and it caught the attention of not only Chiron but the entire company. Nico swallowed hard as everyone slowly looked at him as Will died of laughter in front of him. “Shut up, Solace,” he muttered, kicking Will in the shin before awkwardly waving at the people staring at him.  
Chiron cleared his throat and everyone’s attention shifted back to him.  
“Well, I’m glad everyone enjoyed that little exercise.” Many of the dancers started to cheer. Chiron smiled. “Now, it’s time for the real business.” Another cheer. “I’m glad you all are excited although I do believe you will be singing an entirely different tune by the end of the day.” Everyone quieted as the realization dawned on them. They were about to start choreographing another show-Chiron’s show.   
Yes, Chiron was amazing, but he was serious about his dancing. He expected the absolute best from everybody no matter how much time they spent on stage. Besides, the company only allowed a couple of months of preparation until the doors were back open to the public. That meant that once they finished a show, they were launched into learning another one and making it as great as possible. There was no time for socializing or playing games. People’s jobs and money were on the line-especially Chiron’s, being the director and all.   
Nico sighed as he glanced at Will. This was going to be a long day.


	12. crushcrushcrush

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one in which Nico and Will get McDonald's.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~ Hey, it's the author speaking :) Sorry about the wait. Life is happening and school is quickly approaching. So with that being said, I have no idea when the next two or three chapters will be posted :/ I have a show coming up in a couple of weeks and a shit ton of AP crap to do so, do not be surprised if the chapters get posted on an irregular schedule. I am so sorry, loves xx but on a happier note Will and Nico go on a lunch date(ish) so get excited! Enjoy reading and leave reviews. I love hearing you guys' thoughts; it really makes my day :P Author, out! ~

Nico walked to his things and sat down with a sigh. His sweaty hair was plastered to his face and his flannel was tied around his waist, leaving him shirtless. He focused on steadying his breathing as he stared out the windows onto the street. Many high schoolers were walking about, happy and excited about the upcoming weekend. He found his phone which was still plugged into the wall and looked at it. The time read ‘3:07.’ He sighed and unhooked his phone from the charger, tossing the plug into his bag.  
He unlocked his phone and checked for any messages from Leo. There weren’t any.  
“Crap,” he muttered to himself, shaking his head. Leo was probably still pissed at him-and he wasn’t wrong to be. Nico had been a jerk, no, more than a jerk. He had been a complete ass and he felt horrible about it. He rubbed at his face as his fingers hovered over Leo’s name. He didn’t want to send him a text; he wanted to apologize correctly-face to face. “Crap,” he muttered again.   
“What’s wrong?” he heard a voice behind him. Nico smirked at the recognition and looked up to find a smiling Will. He shrugged and started to undo his shoes. Will sighed and sat down next to Nico, a smile on his face. Will’s fingers wandered to Nico’s right shoe and he started to undo the knots.  
“What’re you doing, Solace?” Nico asked quietly, chuckling to himself. Will shrugged and smiled harder.  
“Just helping out, Nico.” Nico shook his head and slipped his foot out of the shoes and tossed him into his dance bag, quickly slipping on his flip flops. “What, I don’t get a thank you?” Will asked after a couple of seconds had passed. Nico cocked his head towards him.  
“Grazie. Sei felice adesso?” he asked naturally, forgetting where he was. It was almost as if he was back at home-home, home, before the casino days and before Camp Half blood.  
A picture of a woman with long dark hair and huge brown eyes filled his mind. She was wearing a white dress and was smiling, her cheeks rosy. Then his sister filled the woman’s place. She had her hair in a ponytail, a white bow in it. She also had on a white dress, the dress reaching below her knees. She was smiling with all of her teeth, her eyes bright. They always wore white on Sundays.  
“You speak Italian?” he heard someone ask, and was pulled back from the memory, the picture of Bianca already fading away from his retinas. Nico cleared his throat and glanced at Will who's eyes were wide and curious.   
“Uh...yeah,” he swallowed, “Yes. I speak Italian.” Will smiled as his eyebrows raised.  
“That’s insane.” Nico shrugged and focused on zipping up his bag and pocketing his phone. He stood up and untied his shirt from around his waist, pulling his arms through it, not bothering to button it up.  
“I guess,” he muttered. Will stood up with him. Nico looked at him and stared, his eyes wide. “What?” he asked after a few moments. Will blinked at him.  
“Do you want to get lunch or something?” he asked quickly, his face plain. Nico stared at him as his eyebrows scrunched up together.  
“What?”  
“Lunch. You. Me. Now.”   
“Why?”  
“Because, it’s three and we’ve been in this studio since nine and I’m hungry. Aren’t you?” Nico tried not to think of his grumbling stomach.  
“What like a date?”  
“It’s only a date if you want it to be, Nico,” Will said, grabbing his arm and pulling him towards the door. A few people called out their goodbyes to the two as they made their way out of the room.   
Nico stopped them once they were in the hall.  
“I don’t know,” he said, quietly.   
“Look, you can even choose the place,” Will offered. Nico looked at Will. He was smiling, his eyes bright and his hair disheveled. He looked nice, really nice, and it wasn’t helping that the crop top he had on exposed a nice portion of his torso or that his skin seemed to be literally glowing. Nico sighed as his heart started to race.  
“Fine. I get to choose the place,” he said and grabbed Will’s wrist. “Let’s go.”  
Fifteen minutes later, the two found themselves in a McDonald’s. Will was staring at him incredulously and Nico was trying not to notice. He dragged Will to the line.  
“Seriously, Nico?” Nico shrugged.  
“What, they don’t have McDonald’s down in,” he faked a country accent, “Georgia?” Will shoved him and rolled his eyes.  
“That is not how I sound,” he protested.  
“But it is,” Nico laughed. He allowed his voice to drop. “Especially at night when you’re halfway sleep and-” Will cut him off.  
“Shut up.” Nico grinned in triumph. They moved up in the line. “But, seriously. You brought us to McDonald’s?” Nico sighed as he shifted his bag.  
“What’s so wrong about McDonald’s?” Nico asked.   
“Well for one, it’s completely unhealthy. And cheap. And gross.” Nico shook his head and moved up in the line. They were finally at the cashier. The girl behind it was smacking on green gum, her curly brown hair stuffed into the back of her McDonald’s cap.   
“What can I getcha?” she asked, leaning on the counter.   
“Two Happy Meals, please,” he asked, his voice soft. She tapped away at the screen.  
“Anything else?” Nico turned to Will who rolled his eyes and glanced up at the menu bar. He didn’t seem impressed with anything on the board and finally looked back at the cashier.  
“A salad is fine.” The girl stared at him for a beat and then scoffed, tapping away at the screen.  
“Is that all?” she asked. Nico reached in his pocket for his wallet.  
“Yes.”  
“For here or to go?” Nico pointed to the seating area.  
“Here.”  
“11.56,” she told him. He opened his wallet and gave the girl the money. She counted it and printed out the receipt, while handing them their cups. “Your number is 32. Have a great day.”   
“You, too,” Will said as they walked away to the drink area. Nico got Pepsi and Will got Coke, the two eyeing each other as they did so. They finally found a table with two seats and sat down.   
“Coke. Really?” Nico asked, shaking his head. Will blinked at him.  
“Yes, really. Coke is amazing.” Nico shook his head again.  
“I can’t believe you. Coke is-is-gross.” Will’s eyes widened.  
“And Pepsi isn’t? It’s literally a Coke knockoff.”   
“No it is not! Pepsi is amazing goodness while Coke tastes like carbonated medicine.” Will shook his head and took a sip of his drink.  
“Let’s just agree to disagree.” Nico smirked.  
“Agreed.” The two looked around the restaurant. The line was long but not many people were actually sitting down. The smell of fries and burgers filled their noses as the two pretended not to look at each other.

I noticed your eyes are always glued to me  
Keeping them here  
And it makes no sense at all

Honestly, Nico couldn’t help it. Will was just easy to look at. His hair was in a messy style around his head, the golden strands reflecting off the light. His skin was very tan, making his blue eyes stand out. His lips were really pink and there was a light blush covering his cheeks. The shirt he was wearing was slipping down below his neck, which exposed his heavenly collar bones and no, Nico diAngelo most definitely did not describe Will Solace’s collarbones as heavenly. Nor did he think about the way they’d look with hickies all over them.   
“Nico?” Will asked. Nico hummed as his eyes met Will’s. “Why McDonald’s?” Nico blinked and then shrugged, sipping his drink.   
“It’s my favorite restaurant,” he told him. Will’s eyes widened.   
“Restaurant? McDonald’s is not a restaurant.” Nico shrugged. “Okay,” Will started again, “let’s say it is a restaurant. But your favorite? What about Red Lobster? What about The Olive Garden?” Nico blinked at Will. Suddenly he felt very very small and a feeling of embarrassment filled his body.  
“I’ve never been,” he nearly whispered. Will stared at him for a few moments.  
“What?” His voice was just as quiet as Nico’s. Nico swallowed and looked away.  
“To those places. I’ve never been.” Will shook his head.  
“I don’t-”  
“I grew up poor, okay?” Nico told him, his eyes landing back on Will’s, his voice filling with irritation. “Like dirt poor. No money for Red Lobster or-or Olive Garden. All we could ever afford was McDonald’s. That was my Red Lobster. So yeah, it’s my favorite restaurant.” Will was staring at him, his eyes wide and vacant. Nico started to blush and he lowered his voice. “It’s my favorite restaurant.” 

They taped over your mouth  
Scribbled out the truth with their lies

He could see Will swallow and for a couple of minutes they were silent, Nico avoiding Will’s gaze and Will not knowing what to do with his hands. Finally, Will leaned in.  
“Nico, I-”  
“Number 32!” he heard a woman call. Nico shot up from his seat, tripping over his bag as he hurried to the counter. He really did not want to discuss what he had told Will. It was an accident, really. Letting him know about him being poor. But the damage was already done. There was no taking words back, no matter how badly he wanted to.   
He grabbed the tray and a few napkins and thanked the worker for the food. Finally back at his seat, he gave Will his food and started stuffing his face to keep from addressing what had happened just minutes before. He didn’t like telling people about his childhood; most didn’t understand, and he never, ever, told the whole truth. It was too painful. 

I got a lot to say to you  
Yeah, I got a lot to say

The only person who knew the whole story was Hazel. She was his sister after all and she understood. They shared the same father; that was all that had to be said. Percy, Annabeth and Grover knew a little more than the others, being the ones that had saved Nico and Bianca from that hell hole. They knew that Nico and Bianca were neglected, that they spent most days hungry. They knew that their mother had been killed and they knew that the two had to do sketchy things for their father.   
Leo was the only one who knew about the pills, the hospitals and the nightmares. After Bianca had died, he no longer trusted Percy so a lot of his feelings were kept bottled up-which led him to awful places and awful habits. Jason knew about his sexuality and about his crush on Percy and he was pretty sure Piper knew, too. That girl had a thing about love. Annabeth knew more than she let on; frankly, she was too smart not to notice.   
Nico shook his head. His friends all had little parts of him and if you asked him, that was too many parts. Nico wasn’t good with trusting people and admitting his pain or fear. He had spent years building up walls so that when someone left him, when someone disappointed him, it didn’t hurt.   
This was why he couldn’t possibly tell Will. Will was too nice and too pure. Nico was full of darkness and sadness. He knew that if he really opened up to Will, he’d do what everyone else did. Leave.  
“Nico?” Will asked. Nico looked up at him and forced a smile.  
“Look, can you just forget what I said?” His voice was too happy and the smile hurt his face. Will stared at him for a few moments and reached across the table and grabbed his hand. Will was warm, like Leo but not as firey. It was like the feeling of the sun on your face on a very cold day, not like being wrapped up in a blanket next on a cold night. 

Don't you know that we're all alone now?  
I need something to sing about

Nico looked at their hands and then back up at Will.  
“It’s okay,” he told him. Nico blinked and then moved his hands to his lap, breaking his eye contact with Will.  
“You don’t understand,” he whispered, shaking his head.   
“But-”  
“Just drop it, alright?” His voice was a lot meaner and Will gasped when Nico looked at him. Will moved back in his seat and nodded, focusing on his food in front of him. Nico opened his mouth to apologize and then thought better of it. They finished their food in silence.  
“What time is it?” Will was asking him after they had thrown their trash away. Nico glanced at his phone.   
“Going on four. Do you have work?” Nico asked. Will shook his head and held the door open for Nico.  
“No. I only work at the shop Monday through Thursdays. Part time.” Nico nodded and started down the street. They walked in silence for a few moments. Finally Will spoke up. “Do you...” he trailed off. Nico looked at him through the side of his eye.   
“Hmm?”  
“...Do you have something to do later? Because if you didn’t I was wondering if we could, I don’t know, just hang out, I guess. Go to a park. See a movie, maybe. I don’t know.” He scratched the back of his neck. Nico stopped walking and looked at Will.  
He was definitely blushing and he had a smirk on his face. His eyebrows were raised, making his eyes look really big. Nico sighed. He wanted to say yes. Despite everything his brain was screaming at him, he wanted to say yes. But he couldn’t.

Just the one-two of us, who's counting on  
That never happens  
I guess I'm dreaming again

“I actually have something to do tonight.” Immediately, Will deflated as they started walking again. “But,” he continued quickly, “another time, yeah?” Will smiled again.   
“Yeah, okay. If you don’t mind me asking, what do you have to do tonight?” Nico sighed.  
“Leo and I are going to a little get together with some old friends.”  
“Leo?” Will asked slowly. “Is he your-” Nico shook his head and laughed.  
“It happened once.” Will gaped at him and Nico started to blush as he realized what he had just said. “In a dream!” he nearly yelled. Will burst out laughing and Nico turned redder. “It happened once in a dream. So...yeah. Leo is my roommate.” Will put up his hands in defense. “Anyway,” Nico started, rolling his eyes, “that’s what we’re doing tonight.”  
“You don’t all too excited about that.” Nico shrugged.  
“Yeah, well, the people we’re seeing, our old friends….we haven’t seen them in a few years. And we didn’t end on the best of terms.”  
“What happened?”   
“A lot, I guess. It was just time to go and we got invited by coincidence and they probably all hate us, to be honest. I mean, we just kind of left. And my sister, she was looking for me, I knew she was looking for me, and Leo, he left his best friends, and neither of us...we just,” he stopped and shook his head, taking in a deep breath. “I know that we should go. But there’s only so many ways it can end.” Will whistled.  
“That’s-”  
“Horrible. I know.”  
“Well, I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt here and say that whatever made you leave, it was a good reason. I know a little about running away from your friends, your family,” and quieter, “your past.” Nico stared at him. Will looked at him and smiled a small smile.  
“And what have you learned? From all the running, I mean.” Will stopped walking.   
“You can only do two things,” he held up two fingers. “You can confront the thing that’s chasing you, or, do the stupid thing,” he looked at Nico in the eyes, “and keep running.” Nico took a deep breath and nodded.  
“You’re right,” he told him and looked around. “Hey, I’m a couple of blocks away from my friend’s garage, if you don’t mind...”   
“Oh, okay. I think I can get home from here. Look, call me whenever, alright? I’ll alway pick up.” Nico smiled softly.  
“Promise?” Will bit his lip and then nodded. He stepped into Nico’s personal space and Nico started to blush. Will smelled so good. He smelled like the sun and faintly like medicine with a hint of peppermints.   
“What’re you-” Will silenced him as he pulled him into a hug. Nico stiffened immediately, not used to being hugged. It took a few moments but finally he wrapped his arms around Will and squeezed.   
“I’m sorry,” he whispered into Nico’s hair. Nico chuckled.  
“For what? Earlier?” Will grunted. “It’s fine. I was stupid to even bring it up.” Will laughed and pulled away.  
“You’re not stupid.” Nico stared at him  
“You haven’t known me long enough.” The two stared at each other for a while which made Nico blush all the way down to his neck.   
“You’re cute when you blush,” Will blurted out. Nico grinned and blushed harder.   
“You’re cute always.” Will chuckled and looked away. Nico sighed. “Go.”   
“Why? So you can watch me walk away?” Will winked. Nico fought the smile on his face.

I noticed your eyes are always glued to me  
Keeping them here  
And it makes no sense at all

“Maybe.” Will bit his lip and started backing away. Nico shook his head and awkwardly waved. “I’m gonna go now,” he called out. Will stuck out his tongue and then blew him a kiss, turning around in one motion.   
“Don’t forget to call me, Nico!” he heard him say. Nico smiled to himself and headed towards Leo’s garage.


	13. Let It Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one in which Nico owes Leo three dollars.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~Hey, it's the author speaking :) So I'm going to act like it hasn't been nearly three weeks and just post this chapter. I'm really sorry for the wait but life happens, man! Okay, this is kind of a cliff hanger, but it's not horrible or anything, I swear. So yeah. 'Tis all. Hope you enjoy it :D Tell your fellow fangirl/boy friends about this story and leave reviews. Also, you are all amazing :P Author, out!~

Leo's garage door was open when he arrived and music was blaring from inside of the garage. There were two cars parked there and Calypso was working under the hood of one. Her brown hair was braided down her back and she was wearing a green tank top stained with grease with blue work overalls tied around her waist.

"Calypso?" Nico asked in surprise. Calypso looked up and stared at him, sweat rolling down her face. Even with her looking tired and exhausted she still somehow managed to look like a goddess. Nico shook his head at the thought. She finally reached over and turned down the music.

"Don't" she told him, her face morphing into a scowl.

"I...thought you and Leo-"

"We did. But I still, technically, work here. Besides, one of the customers kept requesting me and," she trailed off. "Leo's upstairs. And well, let's just say I don't know if he'll be all that happy to see you." Nico shook his head.

"Thanks, Calypso."

"Whatever." Nico dropped his dance bag and walked to the back of the garage and up the stairs as Calypso turned back on her music.

There were two rooms upstairs. A bathroom and the office. It was always hot and the hallway reeked of motor oil and weed. No one could pinpoint why, but the main theory was that the smell came from the tenants next door. Nico knocked on the door twice and then opened it.

Leo was sitting at the desk, the window open, shirtless, as he scribbled away on a notepad.

"Valdez?" Nico asked as he closed the door. Leo looked up and rolled his eyes, going back to what he was doing.

"Oh look who it is. Glad you came all the way down from your high horse to say hi, but honestly you shouldn't have." His voice was light and sweet but the venom in the words was just as deadly.

"Leo," Nico started again, "I am sorry. This morning was uncalled for. I know you've been going through a lot and I had no reason saying that shit to you. It isn't true." Leo stood up and walked from behind the desk. He started to laugh.

"But it is, isn't it? I'm just a drunk. What do I know? I can't even check myself into an AA meeting, right? Right?" They were face to face and Nico looked away.

"No. You're not. I was being," he sighed, "I'm sorry." Leo started to laugh again.

"You know what, Nico? It's okay." Nico shook his head.

"No. It's-" His voice cracked and he stopped.

"Whatever," he muttered.

"Please, Leo."

"You know," he resumed laughing, "for a person who speaks the truth, you sure do lie to yourself a lot. I mean at least I can admit I'm fucked up." His laughs started to sound strained. "I know I drink way too much. But you?" he pointed at his chest, "You're so fucked up, you don't even know where to begin." He shook his head as the smile stayed painted on his face. His voice was a whisper when he spoke again. "You don't even know how to admit how broken you are."

Nico stared at Leo with hard eyes. He wasn't lying. Everything that Leo had said was true. It was all true. Nico was messed up, seriously messed up, and he did nothing about it. He didn't go to therapy or talk to someone about it. He just wallowed in self pity, swallowing pills by the handful and smoking half a pack a day. And if that didn't help, he'd resort to those dirty street corners in the middle of the night and come home the next morning with a wad of cash and a soulless body. Nico blinked at Leo who was now just staring at him with a sad look on his face. Suddenly, a hot surge of anger rushed through him. That sad look reminded him too much of pity and Nico didn't need pity. He didn't need people to feel sorry for him.

"You don't get it!" he growled. Leo continued to stare at him.

"What don't I get, Nico?" Leo's voice was soft and defeated. Nico started to shake all over. He couldn't do this. He couldn't tell him. Could he?

"I-I-" he started to sputter and mutter things and his breathing easily grew erratic.

"Tell me, Nico. You have to tell someone." Nico started shaking his head.

"I can't. You'll look at me differently. You'll see me for who I am. I can't." Leo grabbed Nico's shoulders.

"Maybe I can help."

"Help what? Fix me? I am not one of your machines, Leo. You can't fix me. You can't save me." Leo gasped and stilled. His eyes were suddenly very glassy and his voice was very small when he spoke again.

"You don't think you can be fixed." Nico shook his head slowly.

"Leo, there's not enough glue in the world."

Shouldn't try to fix it if it keeps getting better,

Just let it go, forget it for ever and ever and ever

Suddenly, Nico felt arms around him. Leo's body was very warm and the skin to skin contact was at first unsettling but then comforting. Leo smelled of machine oil and sweat and weirdly like fire smoke. It was the second time that day that someone had hugged him and Nico slowly wrapped his arms around Leo's torso. They stayed like that for awhile, or at least until Nico stopped shaking. Leo pulled away first.

"I don't know what's happening to you, Nico, but I need you to know that I care. I won't leave you. I won't abandon you. You're my friend and I'm sick of abandoning them." Nico nodded and forced a smile to his face.

"Speaking of abandoning friends…" Leo sighed and reached into his pocket for his phone.

"It's 4:30. If we go home now, we'd be able to leave at 5:30 and catch the 5:45 train. The train ride is going to take at least 45 minutes so…"

"We'll be getting there around 6:45. Okay, I can do that."

"Yeah, it's not too late, not too early."

"Are you sure about this, Leo? I mean, we'll be seeing Hazel, Frank, Piper, Jason…" Leo sighed.

"I know, Nico." They were quiet for a few moments. "But Annabeth invited you herself. And if she didn't rip your head off on the spot, then how bad will it really be?"

"I hope you're right."

They caught the 5:45 train as planned. The train ride was relatively quiet and Leo took a nap on Nico's shoulder as Nico listened to his music. The ride was calm and peaceful, but all Nico could feel in his stomach was anxiousness. He couldn't stop thinking about Hazel. The others he could deal with, but Hazel?

She was his sister. She was the one who saved him from that hole as he was the one who saved her from their father. When he had first disappeared from Camp Half blood, she had looked for him. She had torn through buildings and people trying to find him and every time she got close, Nico'd run away again. He didn't want to see her. Not like he was.

He was sick, to say the least. He was living with Leo, who he barely knew, in their ratty apartment, off of the little money they had saved up. Leo was hell bent on finding Calypso and saving her from the shit she was in and Nico, well, Nico was trying not to throw himself into traffic.

At the time, he was smoking a pack a day and was pulling customers by the half dozen by night. Leo was too focused on Calypso to wonder where the money was coming from and honestly, Leo was probably too afraid to ask. And then there was the pills. The endless highs that were never high enough.

Couldn't quite see what the future held

And as days went by it would tell itself.

Let it struggle just a little bit more,

Let it struggle just a little bit more.

Nico was a serious addict with a serious problem at the time and he couldn't risk Hazel having to deal with him. All she'd do was worry and spend money for him to get help. He'd be a burden and he'd already been that to one sister. He thought it would just be best if he let her alone.

He spent nights telling himself that Hazel'd forget about him and move on. He spent nights telling himself that she'd be better off.

After he had gotten himself together, he couldn't bring himself to seek her out. He kept telling himself, tomorrow, next week, next month and then four years had passed and he had something of a life and sort of healthy relationships and a best friend and money and a job. And then it was too late.

Couldn't tell what would happen next

But as weeks went by look what turned to best.

Let it struggle just a little more,

Let it struggle just a little bit more, mhm.

Nico felt terrible about the whole situation. The two were barely sixteen at the time and he had no business deserting her like that. But he had. And for years he kept telling himself it was for the best. For years he told himself that she didn't need him or that he didn't need her. For years he lied. And the truth was he was too weak to even speak the truth.

If what they said was all pretend then it'd be different,

If it depended on if anyone was listening,

And I was listening.

He was too weak to admit that he was wrong. He was too weak to admit that he needed help, that he needed her. That she was his sister, his only surviving family. He was too weak.

Nico felt tears prick his eyes and angrily wiped them away. He was going to see Hazel in less than an hour and honestly, he didn't know what to expect. Then there was everyone else. He had known Frank for the brief time Nico had spent at Camp Jupiter and he was a great guy. Nice, calm and understanding. And he cared for Hazel deeply. He always was there to protect her, even though the girl didn't need much protection. And for that, Nico was always in debt to him. Frank had always been there for his little sister, more than he ever was.

Then there was Jason and Piper. Nico didn't really know Piper. She was just another pretty girl in love with a hero in his eyes, but he knew that she was very smart and strong, despite her looks. And then there was Jason who in Nico's last few months at Camp Half blood, had grown extremely close to him, especially after that encounter with Eros. The mere thought of that horrid man ran shivers through Nico's body. Jason had been there and hadn't judged him. He had been understanding and patient with him when Nico was anything but. He didn't deserve Jason's friendship, yet he still gave it.

Nico sighed to himself. Those people deserved better friends than him, which was part of the reason why he had left in the first place. Was he proud of that fact? No. He had been just a kid. A messed up kid, really, with seemingly no friends and family. Which, in all honesty, wasn't true. He had friends and family. Nico just didn't know how to be either of those things. He was rude and brooding and sick. But now he was getting better. And although he would never admit it out loud, he prayed to whoever was listening, that they'd forgive him. And it almost didn't matter that Nico didn't see himself as being worthy of forgiveness.

And when they said that what I wanted was a figment,

I had to turn the other cheek but I was listening,

Yeah I was listening, listening to all.

When the train pulled to their stop, Nico shook Leo awake who tiredly protested.

"Come on," Nico told him, pulling the both of them to their feet. Leo groaned and finally opened his eyes. Nico dragged them out of the train car just as the doors slid closed. They found their way out of the station and above ground. They walked for fifteen minutes in silence, as the sky started to morph into a beautiful red and purple.

"Are you nervous?" Nico finally asked Leo, as they found Percy's building. Leo smirked and looked over to Nico.

"Of course."

Remember what the people said,

Remember what the people said,

I wasn't listening,

I wasn't listening, listening at all.

Percy's apartment was on the top floor and his door was at the far end of the hall. Nico and Leo walked towards it and they could hear the steady hum of music pulsing out of it along with various excerpts of conversation. Leo sighed and looked down at his clothes. He was wearing a light brown button up, tucked into dark brown corduroys with dark green suspenders hanging off of his bony shoulders. His hair was in a curly dark mess on his head, his tan ears peeking out from beneath it. Nico was wearing all black, as per usual. He had on a black wife beater and black jeans that were probably a little too long on him. He had a silver chain hanging from his belt loops and his trusty skull ring on his finger. His hair was falling messily towards his face and every three seconds, he was pushing it back. He really needed a haircut.

Leo looked towards Nico with an unsteady smirk.

"I guess it's now or never." Nico nodded and sighed, knocking on the door three times. They heard the music turn down along with the sounds of talking. Nico heard Leo take in a breath as the chain slid from behind the door and Annabeth pulled it open.

Her hair was in a high ponytail, making her cheekbones stand out. Her gray eyes were deep and wide and immediately, a small smile filled her face as she took in Nico and Leo's presence. Behind her, inside the apartment, the walls were blue, covered with various picture frames filled with smiling children Nico immediately recognized as the kids from the home.

There were two green couches in the center of the room. On the couch to the left was Frank and Hazel. He was sitting close to the door wearing a huge red t shirt and black jeans. His hair was in a short buzz cut and he had been in the middle of a conversation with Hazel. Hazel was lying on her stomach across Frank's lap. Her hair was in a frizzy mess around her hair, the pretty brown strands turning an almost goldish color towards the ends. She was wearing a pastel purple colored sundress and her legs were in the air, crossed at the ankles.

On the right couch laid Piper on her back, her head farthest from the door. She was also sporting all black, with a baggy crop top with French words on it and shredded black jeans. Her hair was up, exposing the various piercings on her ears. She had been talking to Reyna who was sitting on the floor next to Piper's head. Nico's stomach dropped as he laid his eyes on his friend. Her dark hair was in a tight braid all the way down to her waist. She was wearing an old Camp Jupiter shirt with gray jeans and had tattoos that flowed up and down her arms.

To the right behind them, near the entrance to the hallway, was Jason and Percy. Jason was wearing a white tank top and jeans. He had his hair in a blonde mess on the top of his head and had obviously grown a couple of inches since the last time Nico had seen him. Percy was next to him, sporting a blue t shirt and dark blue jeans. His hair was spiked upwards and the sides of it was shaved off into a punk look. The two had various CDs in their hands and were obviously trying to decide which song to play next on the stereo.

The two stood in silence as one by one, their friend's eyes landed on them. Annabeth was now standing to the side and looking at all of their reactions. The expressions ranged from blank, to shock and then to anger. Leo finally let go of his breath and turned to Nico.

"You owe me three bucks."

When it's said and done,

Let it go.

~I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE SONGS USED IN THIS CHAPTER~

~NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED~


	14. Fix You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one in which Hazel cries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~Hey, it's the Author speaking :) I can't believe I'm uploading this so soon lmaoo. It's really only because funkdaddy2012 helped me out with the song and he's the one who persuaded me to post this now instead of later. So thank him lol...yeah. Have fun reading my messy midnight writing. Author, out :P~

The silence was awkward and lasted for what felt like forever. Everyone was staring and finally Leo cleared his throat and stepped through the threshold.

"Hey, Pipes," he said slightly. Her face was stony as she sat up. He took a step towards her. "Long time, no see." She was up in a flash, her hand already finding its way to Leo's cheek. The slap filled the room. Her colorful eyes were glassy and her nose was red.

"You don't get to call me that," she spat and turned around and walked down the hall. Leo swallowed and glanced at Jason who just stared and then went after her. A door slamming echoed throughout the apartment.

Nico didn't see her get up, but suddenly, Hazel was standing only a few feet away from him.

"Nico?" she whispered quietly. Nico turned to her and forced a smile.

"Hazel." She took in a deep breath and her face remained emotionless. Then Frank was standing up, his hand placed firmly on her shoulder. Leo blinked and smiled towards her.

"Hey, Hazel," he said, stepping towards her. Frank stepped in front of Hazel and stared at him with cold eyes. Annabeth pressed her lips into a firm line and sighed, closing the door.

"Come on, now."

"Why'd you invite them," Hazel muttered, her voice barely audible. Annabeth shook her head, but remained silent.

"Hazel, I-" Nico started.

"You were dead." She stepped from behind Frank towards Nico. "You were dead. For all intensive purposes, I had no brother."

"Hazel-"

"Nearly five years, Nico. I was barely sixteen and you-"

"I know." She shook her head.

"No, I don't think you do." The silence was heavy and Nico sighed. But before he could get another word out, she was already walking out the door. Frank stared after her and sat back down with a huff.

"Y'all got some nerve," he told them, shaking his head. Nico nodded and Leo sighed.

"Yeah, I guess we do."

When you try your best, but you don't succeed

When you get what you want, but not what you need

Leo sat down on the couch and put his face in his hands. Annabeth was still standing next to Nico and she was staring across the room. Nico had nearly forgotten about Percy who was standing very still, his face open and shocked.

"Nico," the man breathed, and he was near Nico in a heartbeat. Nico swallowed as his blood pounded in his ears. He nodded roughly and Percy reached out a hand. Nico flinched away, almost knocking into Annabeth.

"Don't," he warned. Percy's hand was suspended in air and then he dropped it. A switch turned on in him, and his whole demeanor changed.

"Well, I am glad you both are here. Apparently, my girlfriend invited you, to my house, without any warning, but of course you are always welcome. I mean, at least once upon a time, you were family."

"Percy," Annabeth snapped. Percy cleared his throat and walked back to where the stereo was, turning it on and turning it up. Nico looked over at Annabeth who gave him a sympathetic look and walked into the kitchen. Nico made eye contact with Reyna who was standing up. She walked towards him and brought him into an embrace. He immediately reciprocated.

"Reyna," he smiled into her hair.

"Hello there, stranger. You got tall." And honestly he had. He had at least an inch on her, which was odd considering the last time they had been together, she had had two inches on him.

She let go and looked at him, her dark brown eyes wide.

"I missed you, friend." Nico nodded and smiled.

"I know. I missed you, too." She gave a small smile and went into the kitchen with Annabeth. Nico sighed and sat down next to Leo, across from Frank.

"You've been taking care of her for me?" Nico asked him. Frank nodded.

"We've been doing alright."

"How is everyone?"

"Good. We all have jobs. Reyna and I are bouncers at this club in Manhattan. Hazel works at this jewelry store in Staten Island. Piper and Percy work at a record shop that sells all sorts of crazy things. Annabeth is at the library downtown and Jason is a bartender. We've been getting by. It's been rough, but we're starting to really get a life for ourselves." Nico nodded.

"I bet it feels nice to be out of the system and out of that life."

"Oh, yeah. It's been hard, especially with our parents and our past. A lot of us have rap sheets and getting a good stable job has been touch and go for a while, but..." He trailed off. "What about you two?" Leo looked up and sighed, wrapping his arm around Nico's shoulders.

"Well, Nico here is a dancer at Chiron's company." Frank's eyes widened and Leo nodded. "Yep. Little twinkle toes over here and me? I own my own garage with Calypso." Frank's eyes widened even more.

"You found her?" Leo nodded.

"Yeah. It was hard and man, was she in some serious shit, but yeah. I got her cleaned up and taught her some things…" Frank nodded. A silence fell over them.

"You know, we were almost over it."

"What?" Leo asked.

"You two leaving, I mean." Nico blinked at Frank.

"I don't-"

"It tore us apart, really," Frank continued. "Hazel and Piper nearly drove themselves mad with trying to find you. And Percy, all he did was blame himself. Jason was shutting out all of his feelings and often times, I was the one who had to have the level head. Everyone blamed each other; everyone was so angry. Reyna and I fought for peace of mind and then Annabeth left-for good. Percy nearly lost it. No," he said, more to himself than to anyone, "Percy did lose it. Then Reyna, Hazel and I finally went back to Camp Jupiter. It took a lot of persuading on me and Reyna's part, but we convinced her. Jason stayed here with Piper and for almost a year we were all separated. And then one by one, we came back. We found each other and we mended. It still hurt, though; many words were exchanged and some things were just too painful, but we were good. We've been good. And then you two pop back in as if you didn't do anything. As if you didn't ruin the people who loved you."

When you lose something you can't replace

When you love someone, but it goes to waste

Could it be worse?

"Frank," Nico said. "We are so sorry." Frank shrugged.

"Frankly, I don't think I'm the one you need to be apologizing to." Nico turned away and looked at Leo who's eyes were rimmed with red.

"We didn't think-" Leo started.

"That's the thing, isn't it?" Frank asked, cutting him off. "You didn't think." Leo gasped and put his head back into his hands. Nico sighed and looked behind him at Percy, who was reading the back of a CD case. Nico swallowed and stood up, walking towards him.

"Percy?" he called, once he was a couple of feet away from him. Percy looked up, his green eyes wide.

"I didn't think you'd ever speak to me again," was the first thing out of his mouth.

"I didn't think so either." Nico pressed his lips into a firm line and sighed, shaking his head. "Percy, I-"

"Why'd you leave, Nico?" Percy's voice was low but Nico could hear it over the music. Nico's ears burned hot and he looked at Percy.

"You know why. You know why I couldn't-I was just a kid and you-you-"

High up above or down below

When you're too in love to let it go

He stopped himself. His face was burning and his fists were clenched and Percy was staring at him with watery eyes.

"Nico, I am so-"

"Fine! But I am not speaking to him," Piper was yelling as she stormed into the living room. Everyone's attention was on her as she crossed her arms and stared at Leo, her left leg bouncing up and down profusely. Jason appeared behind her and nudged her forward, towards the kitchen. She sucked her teeth and walked to the kitchen muttering under her breath. "I mean who does he think he is?" was heard as she left.

Jason sighed and looked towards Nico and Percy. Nico glanced at Percy and then surged forward, past Jason, to sit back down on the couch. Leo was shaking his head.

"Love you, too, Beauty Queen," he muttered and turned towards Nico who was avoiding eye contact with anyone all together. "She hates me, Nico," he whispered. Nico sighed into the couch and patted Leo's thigh.

"She does," he said sadly. Nico felt the couch dip on his right side and was greeted by an unhappy looking Jason Grace. His eyes were wide and he looked tired. They stared at each other for a few moments until Jason looked forward at Frank, who was on his phone.

"So, you're back," he said. Nico nodded.

"I guess so."

"Why?" Nico shrugged.

"It was time." They were silent for a few moments and Jason glanced past Nico at Leo who had his head in his hands. "She hates him," Nico said. Jason looked at Nico and smirked.

"She's pissed, yeah, but she doesn't hate him. She could never." Nico nodded.

"What about you? You don't seem too angry." Jason shrugged.

"Honestly? I'm not feeling too much of anything at the moment." Nico stared at Jason with wide eyes.

"I-" Hazel opened the door and Frank stood up. Leo looked up at her and she stared at him with her hands on her hips.

"So, you gonna hug me or what?" Leo's voice was quiet when he spoke.

"Don't you hate me?" Hazel rolled her eyes and closed the door.

"Leo, if you don't stand up." Leo stood and smirked.

"You're not going to smack me, are you?" She smiled and then pulled him into a hug, standing on her tip toes.

"You know, I really should," she said into his neck. Leo sighed and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"There goes my Hazel," he muttered. Nico softly smiled and looked at Frank who was smiling, too. She finally let go and hit him on the arm.

"You ever pull something like that again and I will bury you in the earth, Leo Valdez." Leo laughed.

"I believe you will." She nodded and then looked at Nico. His stomach dropped. Her eyes were piercing through him like daggers and even though she was barely 5'3, she was still intimidating.

Nico stood up slowly and walked towards her, while Leo sat back down. She crossed her arms.

"We need to talk," she told him and walked past him into the hallway. Nico sighed and looked at Frank, Leo and Jason who all shook their heads. Nico groaned and reluctantly followed.

The hallway was darkened and at the end of it was a bathroom and two bedrooms. Hazel's back was against the wall and she was looking straight ahead. Nico took the wall across from her and stared. Her hair was shorter than it had been, the strands stopping right before they reached her shoulders. She had grown a couple of inches and was no longer skinny. She looked like an adult and even in the dark, radiated beauty.

"Hazel," he whispered. She shook her head.

"I don't want to hear that you're sorry. I know you are."

When you try your best, but you don't succeed

When you get what you want, but not what you need

Nico opened his mouth and then closed it again. He was ashamed and she knew it. "You know how hard it was," her voice was cracking, "waking up to find your brother just gone. No goodbye. No note. No nothing. Especially after what we had just been through. Half of me thought that maybe one of Gaea's goons had gotten to you. The other half didn't know what to think. And then I come to find out that Leo had disappeared too. I was-" she stopped. Nico sniffed, willing himself to maintain composure.

"I was messed up, Hazel."

"So was I. So was I. And I needed you." It broke his heart really, because now she was crying.

Tears stream down your face

When you lose something you cannot replace

Tears stream down your face and I

He had spent so much time convincing himself that she was better off and it all was crashing down around him. He was starting to realize how much he had really hurt her.

"Everyday I woke up afraid that I would see your face run across the bottom of a news screen. Everyday I woke up afraid that someone was going to call me in to identify a body." He was crying now, too.

"Stop," Nico told her and pulled her into a hug. Hazel's words were tearing him up inside and he felt horrible.

Tears stream down your face

I promise you I will learn from my mistakes

Tears stream down your face and I

The girl was shaking in his arms and he squeezed harder, burying his face in her soft curls. "You don't know how many days I spent wanting to call you."

"Then why didn't you?" she asked into his shirt. "Just one phone call, Nico. I would have-"

"I know." They stood in the embrace for a while, Nico breathing in her scent. She oddly smelled like the soil and Nico smiled into her hair. He was hugging his sister. After nearly five years, he was finally reunited with her.

"Don't you ever leave me again," she told him, pulling away. Nico wiped at his face and sighed.

"I-"

"Hey, guys?" Reyna walked into the hallway. She topped in her tracks and cleared her throat. "Sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine, Reyna. What's up?"

"Annabeth wants us all in the living room. She has an idea." Hazel groaned and Reyna cracked a smile, turning on her heel and walking back out. Nico ran his hand through his hair.

"What does that mean?" Hazel looked up at him and shook her head.

"Nothing but trouble."

~I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE SONGS USED IN THIS CHAPTER~

~NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED~


	15. Say

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one in which Nico gets drunk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~Hey, it's the author speaking :) Okay first of all, I am so so so so sorry it's been almost two months...oops. School started so that's really why. But hey, whatcha gon' do? And instead of studying for the three tests I have coming up, I'm uploading this so there's that. Anyways, it's a new chapter. We've got some drunk people. We've got some sad people. And..yeah, 'tis all, pretty much. So, hope you enjoy Chapter 15 (can u believe it's 15 chapters ohmygod?!) And leave reviews below bc I LOVE reading them :P Author, out!~

They were sitting on the floor behind the couches, in a circle. There was a bottle of some type of hard liquor in between them and various shot glasses. Piper was resting on one of her arms, trying not to kill Leo, who was sitting two people down from her. In between them was Jason. On the other side of her was Reyna and then Annabeth who was practically sitting in Percy's lap. Then there was Frank and Hazel. Nico was sitting next to his sister and Leo was sitting next to him.

Everyone had a different emotion on their face. Leo was smiling but it looked like he was trying not to cry. Nico and Hazel looked like they had just been crying. Piper looked like she was going to punch a wall. Percy would not stop staring at Nico. Frank and Jason shared a look of complete blankness while Reyna and Annabeth beamed with excitement.

"So," Annabeth started, her smile climbing up her face, "we are going to play a drinking game."

"No shit, Sherlock," Reyna muttered. Annabeth laughed and hit Reyna on the shoulder.

"Don't be fucking rude," she told her and then focused her attention back on the rest of the group. "We've all played the game before and I think it'll be a fun way to loosen everybody up."

"You've got a funny definition of fun," Piper muttered. Jason looked at her and she stuck out her tongue and then began to sulk.

"Oh, come on Piper," Reyna started, "you love getting drunk." Piper's face remained hard as she rolled her eyes. Reyna started to boo her.

"What are we playing?" Hazel asked quietly. Annabeth turned to her with a smile.

"Why, I am glad you asked, my dear Hazel. We're going to play 'Never Have I Ever.'" Hazel shook her head.

"You do realize that Nico and I aren't even old enough to drink legally, right?" Reyna barked a laugh.

"It's never stopped you before, short stuff. And you'll be twenty-one soon enough." Nico turned to his sister.

"What does she mean 'before?'" he asked with his eyebrows raised. Reyna spoke up.

"Oh, please. Hazel is a stone cold drinker, man." Leo laughed.

"No way." Frank nodded softly.

"And a horny one, at that." Hazel's eyes grew to the size of saucers as she started to blush.

"No, I am not!" she screamed at Frank, hitting him on the shoulder with every word. Frank hummed to himself as Nico acted like he didn't hear what he had obviously just heard.

"Okay, okay. Stop having too much fun without there being any alcohol involved," Annabeth started. "Okay, rules: No Lying. No Cheating. And if someone says anything too wild and you have done that thing, you have to tell the story. And I don't care if seven out of nine of us have done it. You're telling the story." She looked each one of them in the eye and they all nodded. Annabeth smiled happily and passed a glass to Percy. "You, first." Percy smiled up at Annabeth and took the cup, thinking hard on what he wanted to say, his dark hair falling towards his face.

"Alright, I got one." All eyes settled on Percy. Then he turned to Annabeth. "The purpose of the game is to get everyone else drunk, right?" Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"Yes, Seaweed Brain." He nodded and thought for a little while longer.

"Okay, okay, for real this time. Never have I ever been to any state in the South." Reyna, Hazel and Leo groaned.

"That is not fair, you uncultured swine!" Reyna yelled, pouring a shot for herself and downing it in one go. Hazel muttered soft curses as Frank poured Hazel a shot. She downed it and didn't screw up her face. Nico stared with wide eyes.

"Hazel, you barely reacted," he said. She shrugged her shoulders.

"Sorry, big brother. I guess a few things have changed." Leo poured his shot and then gave the bottle to Piper.

"Come on, Piper. I know you've been to the South." Everyone stared as she stared at Leo. Finally, she took the bottle from him and drank from the top of it with a roll of her eyes. She coughed a little and then set it back down in the middle of the group.

"And we're off the ground running," Annabeth laughed. She turned towards Percy. "Who's next?" Percy smiled up at her and shrugged.

"You, of course." Reyna made gagging noises.

"Can you stop with the heart eyes, Percy?" she asked in mock annoyance. Percy smiled and then presumed to messily kiss Annabeth, who weakly protested. Nico blinked at them, his chest growing tight with...with what? It had been years, he reminded himself. He had to get over Percy. Besides, it wasn't like he had been exactly nice to him, anyway. Nico had been the one to end things. Nico sighed as he remembered Percy before he had left. They were just kids then but man, were they screwed up. With all the drinking and drugs and their parents and Gaea, god; he wondered how they had even made it out alive. Nico quietly averted his eyes.

"Okay, okay," Annabeth protested, finally getting Percy off of her. "Never have I ever...had sex with a girl." Literally all of the boys groaned simultaneously, excluding Nico who began to blush. Frank drank first, abashedly motioning to Hazel for his explanation. Percy muttered curses as he took a swig straight from the bottle, not even bothering with a glass. Jason smiled and grabbed a glass.

"If you keep playing like that, Annabeth, we'll all be drunk in an hour." Annabeth laughed as she passed him the bottle.

"That's the point. "

Jason passed the bottle to Leo as he poured himself a shot. Everyone stared at him weirdly. He looked up.

"What, you think Calypso having a body like that would just go unnoticed by little old me. Please," he chuckled as he downed his shot. Then, suddenly, all eyes were on Nico as everyone silently awaited his actions. Nico began to blush as Hazel looked at him through the corners of her eyes. Yes, he had had sex with a girl before but it wasn't because of...usual reasons. And he knew that everyone else knew that he was gay. To lie or not to lie. Welp, he had nothing to lose, not really. He finally sighed and grabbed the bottle and chugged, squeezing his eyes shut as he did so.

"Wait, wait, wait," Piper spoke up, "you've had actual sex with an actual girl before?" Nico started to blush even more and nodded quickly.

"Uh, yeah."

"Well," she said, sitting up and always being a sucker for a love story, "who was she?"

"I-I don't remember her name. There were so many." He let the last part slip out and immediately closed his mouth as he looked at Hazel.

She stared at him wide eyes as silence filled the room.

"I mean, the experience wasn't all that memorable and I did it more than once with these random girls because I just wanted to get it over with so yeah, I don't remember her-their- names exactly. Sorry." Except, he said that all in one breath as his face grew redder and redder. Frank chuckled.

"Hey, it's alright, Nico. We get it." Nico nodded and coughed as Reyna clapped.

"Well, I do believe it's my turn!" Everyone's attention shifted and Nico had never been more relieved. The group went about six more rounds until another situation occurred. Thus far, Nico had been enjoying himself. He was enjoying his semi-drunkenness and his lack of thought about the words that came out of his mouth. Piper was less angry and Leo was less sad. Everyone was buzzed and everything was numb. He hadn't felt that great in ages. But then, as the night climbed on, the 'Never Have I Evers' grew more serious, and because everyone was so drunk, their filters became thinner and thinner.

"Never have I ever killed a man," Jason hiccuped. Leo started to giggle.

"Why th-the hell would you say that? None oovv-usss have killed-hiccup-anyone," he told him, leaning on Nico who was happily grinning with cheeks tinged with pink.

"That's so not true!" Reyna protested. "My sister and I killed my father." Everyone grew silent as they processed what she had said. "Whoops," she giggled, closing her mouth.

"Wait," Frank blinked, "what?" Reyna nodded as she took a shot, sniffing a bit and clearing her throat.

"Yep. It was more or less accidental. I mean, it wasn't like 'hey, let's just kill our dad.' It was more like, 'hey, let's just let him die.'"

"That's so fucked, man," Piper told her. Nico finally spoke up.

"But, like, how did you live with the guilt?" He knew he was prying but he didn't seem to remember how to shut his mouth. Reyna turned to him with wide eyes and shrugged.

"I don't," was all she said. Percy, who was more of a silent, brooding drunk, grabbed the bottle.

"I killed someone," he said, his voice velty and low. "His name was Gabe and he hit my mother so I hit him."

If you could only

Say what you need to say

Have no fear for giving in

Have no fear for giving over

Jason lowly whistled as Nico stared at Percy. It was times like this when Nico wondered about the man. Percy seemed so nice and joyful at times; he was always grinning and joking but sometimes, when he got serious, he was scary. Especially in the group home. The lot of them had been into some bad stuff and Percy had done some questionable things. But if Nico was being truthful to himself, they all had. He shook the thoughts from his head.

"Sorry I asked, man," Jason said. Percy shrugged and gulped down a shot. Leo started grinning.

"Okay, okay, my turn," he announced. "Never have I ever gotten arrested."

"You're lying," Hazel scolded, swaying from side to side. Leo grinned and shook his head.

"Nope. I don't have a rap sheet, I've never been to juvie and I've never gotten arrested," he said proudly. Hazel groaned.

"My mother was a drug dealer and I was a runner. Some cop caught me and I spent the night at the sheriff's office. I was twelve." Leo shook his head.

"Man, that sucks, but it still counts!" he sang. He gave her the bottle. "Go ahead, drink up!" Hazel stuck her tongue out and took a shot, burping loudly afterwards. Frank raised up his hands.

"I'm with Leo on this one." Piper groaned and started to pout.

"Ugh, you're such a goody two shoes. I got arrested and charged with grand theft auto. I was in juvie for three months before I finally got out," she said.

"Wait, wait, wait," Reyna started, "your rich celebrity father let you rot in juvie for three months?" Piper giggled.

"He didn't even know. I was "away at school" and he was in a different country filming and his assistant though that the jail time would do me some good. Soooo," she sang, "I didn't get out until he came back."

"Oh, hell no," Reyna said shaking her head. Piper shrugged and took a shot, shaking her head afterwards. Annabeth took the bottle from her.

"I'm a run away so I practically live in the back of a police car," she said quickly, wolfing down a shot. Nico gestured for the bottle. Percy's eyes widened.

"Wait, wait. I've committed murder and have never gotten arrested but you have?" Nico's eyes widened as he started to blush, yet again. He knew that this was probably one of the times where he should lie. Instead, he shrugged and took the bottle and poured a shot.

"What, Piper can commit grand theft auto but I can't get arrested?" he asked with a smirk.

"It's just," Jason started, "like, what did you even do?" Nico eyed Jason and downed the shot, wallowing in the warm buzz the alcohol gave him.

"You really want to know?" he asked them. Hazel grabbed his arm, but he ignored her.

"Yeah, hot shot, spill," Reyna said. Nico took a deep breath and shook his head.

"Prostitution."

"What?" Percy asked. His eyes were wide and he was staring. Nico weakly smiled back and shrugged.

"I mean, I was just a kid. I was new to the streets and my father had always said I had a pretty face..." he trailed off, his head swimming.

"But," Frank hiccuped, "how'd you get caught?"

"I was working a corner and got in the car with a cop. He arrested me but not really. It was more of a 'hey, I realize you're just a kid so I'm going to take you off the streets for a couple of nights and feed you McDonald's and try to track down your parents.' When he realized that I didn't have any parents to be tracked down, he tried to put me in the system, so I ran away."

You'd better know that in the end

Its better to say too much

Then never say what you need to say again

Nico knew he was rambling; he knew that he was talking too much. But honestly, he found himself not caring at all. There was alcohol in his system and he didn't really care what he said. Nico was a truthful drunk, an unfiltered drunk. Every once in awhile it felt nice not having to psychoanalyze every word that he thought about uttering. Every once in awhile, it felt nice not to care.

A silence fell over them as everyone stared at Nico. The alcohol was keeping him from feeling the embarrassment first hand but he still knew that he was growing uncomfortable with the stares. He did not like a lot of attention on him, sober or not.

"That's really screwy, man," Jason said, shaking his head. Nico nodded in agreement and cracked half a smile.

"My whole life is screwy, man."

Annabeth sighed and struggled to stand up.

"Well on that note, I think it's time to call it a night. It's midnight, we're all drunk and everything's getting too serious," she said. Reyna stood up as well and yawned, swaying to one side.

"We can crash here, right Percy?" Percy nodded as he started to collect the glasses.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he said offhandedly. Leo turned to Nico.

"We staying?" he asked. Nico shrugged and then giggled.

"What, like a sleepover? Like in the moooovieeesss?" Leo blinked at him and then laughed at him.

"Yes." Nico nodded with a grin.

"Yes." Hazel patted Nico's shoulder.

"I'm gonna just.." she trailed off, resting her head in his lap. He laughed at the absurdity of the moment and then everything faded away until nothing.

Nico awoke with a start and a slight headache. He was lying on his back, on the floor, in yesterday's clothes, with someone splayed across his legs and someone's feet by his nose. It took him a solid four seconds to realize that he wasn't in his apartment and another two to realize that he was in Percy's. He groaned and then shifted his head away from, as he now realized, Leo's feet.

The taste of sleep and alcohol resided in his mouth and Nico groaned again. He hated unplanned, well, anything, and this was definitely unplanned. He started to think about the night before as he watched the fastly brightening sky and then it dawned on him exactly what had transpired. In four seconds flat, he had quietly removed Hazel from his lower half and was running down the hallway into the bathroom to throw up.

After he had rinsed out his mouth, he sat on the toilet and blinked away tears. He had said too much the night before. He had told his friends a lot about himself, a lot about himself that he never ever wanted to share.

"Maybe they won't remember," he started thinking to himself.

Take all of your wasted honor

Every little past frustration

Take all of your so-called problems,

Better put 'em in quotations

But he knew it was all a lie. If he remembered then they definitely did and he couldn't bare to wait for the side long glances and pity filled looks. He needed to leave.

He was back in the living room in two seconds and silently watched everyone who was still peacefully asleep. Hazel had moved towards Frank who was sprawled on his back. Annabeth and Percy were leaning against a wall asleep on each other. Reyna was hanging off the couch and so was Piper. Jason was near Leo, snoring softly. He sighed to himself and then snapped himself back to reality. He needed to go.

He dug through the cushions of the couch Reyna was sleeping on for his phone. Once he had retrieved it, he looked at the time.

"7:42." He unlocked his phone and then began to text the only person he found himself wanting to talk to. Will.

Nico: Breakfast at the café ?

Will: dude, its like 7 on a saturday

Nico: srry. had a rough night

Will: oh no. is everything alrite

Nico: just yes or no

Will: god, nico. yes. i'll be there at 8

Nico: ...thanks, will

Nico looked up to find Reyna staring at him. He nearly jumped and then sighed.

"What?" he whispered.

"Where are you going?" she asked. Nico stared at her and then pursed his lips.

"Out."

"At seven a.m?"

"Yes, at seven a.m. Who are you, my mother?"

"No, just the one who had to clean up your mess."

"You more than anyone should know what it feels like to-"

"You more than anyone should know what it feels like to be ran away from. To try your best and still have the people you love disappear."

"I'm not-"

"They just got you back, Nico." Reyna stared at him with glassy eyes. "For the first time in a really long time, we feel like a family again." Nico scoffed and shook his head.

"It was one drunken night. And it's not like I'm running away. I'm just going out," he said, turning his back to her and walking towards the door.

"Yeah," she muttered. "That's what you said last time." Nico acted like he didn't hear her and was out the door before he had time to change his mind.

Walking like a one man army

Fighting with the shadows in your head

Living out the same old moment

Knowing you'd be better off instead

~I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE SONGS USED IN THIS CHAPTER~

~NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED~


	16. I'm A Mess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one in which Nico is a mess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~Hey, it's the Author speaking :) New chapter time! Uhhh.. i guess panic attack/mental breakdown trigger warning. I apologize in advance. Author, out :P~ (P.S. This started out happy, I swear.)

Nico walked through the doors of the café at 8:21, his day-old clothes falling off of him and his chest out of breath. He immediately spotted Will at a two seater booth farthest from the door and walked towards him. He slid into the opposite side of the booth and in one motion, took a large gulp of whatever Will had been drinking. The taste of insane sweetness and leaves filled his mouth.

"What the hell is that?" Nico asked, smacking his lips and twisting up his face.

"Chai tea, thanks for asking," Will said, snatching the drink back. "It's good."

"Yeah, if you like leaves and sugar for breakfast." Will scoffed.

"You're late." Nico rolled his eyes and sighed into the booth, really taking in his surroundings. The café was barely open, the pink blue sky making everything glow in pastels. There weren't many people; it was barely 8:30 on a Saturday morning. There were only two people behind the cash registers sipping on something caffeinated, trying not to act like they were sleeping. Nico turned towards Will.

"I wasn't home. Besides, it's 8-ish," he said shrugging. Will blinked at him as he took another sip of his tea.

"Well, you look like shit." Nico rolled his eyes.

"I was drunk most of last night and I left in a hurry. Sue me."

"Where even were you? At your friend's house?" Nico nodded. "Well, how'd it go?"

"How do you think it went?"

"I don't know. I mean, you text me at, what, 7:30 this morning, and then you walk in almost an hour later with your clothes barely on and your eyes barely open." Nico cracked a grin.

"I guess you could say I'm not a morning person," he told him. Will nodded in exasperation.

"You're damn right." They stared at each other for a few moments. Despite the sun barely being up, Nico found, Will still seemed to radiate.

See the flames inside your eyes

It burns so bright I wanna' feel your love

Will was practically glowing and his hair was in an organized mess on top of his head. Nico quietly envied how nice yet unworked on it looked; Nico's hair always looked too messy or like he tried too hard. It was always too long and in his face or, whenever he actually got a haircut, it was always too short and made him look like a lost puppy. Will's hair reminded Nico of Leo's in the soft curly sense but not at all in color. Leo's hair was so black it was blue while Will's hair was borderline golden- almost like Jason's but instead of that lightning bright that Jason's hair was, Will's glowed like the sun.

Will was wearing a simple white tee and sweatpants, his blue eyes wide and electric and was sitting straight up in his chair with an air of confidence that Nico lacked. Nico always slouched-always. He didn't like bringing attention to himself and found it easier to fade into the shadows whenever too many people were around. He had learned that trick after Bianca had died.

"You're staring," Will whispered. Nico blinked at him and then averted his eyes.

"Yeah, so?" he asked in defense.

"Nothing. Just what's up? You seemed pretty upset this morning."

"Nope. Not at all. I just needed to get some air."

"But why me? Why didn't you wake up your roommate or something?"

Nico swallowed and shrugged. Why did he text Will? His mind was drawing blanks, so he didn't answer. Maybe it was just that Will was the first person, in a very long time, that he actually, genuinely, liked. It wasn't like he had many friends to begin with. The dancers at the company were nice, yeah, but they weren't his friends. He hated most of them anyway, and by most of them he meant Octavian. He had known him at the group home in California, the one he had taken Hazel to, and man, was that boy a trip. He was always starting shit and he had had it out for Jason and Reyna, no matter what they did. Nico couldn't stand the guy, but still, because Chiron is who he is, he recognized the boy's talent and let him into the company.

"Let's not forget," Chiron had said when Nico complained, "who you were before I let you in. We all start from somewhere, Nico." And that had been the end of that.

But the rest of his friends? They hated him.

And ohhh I've only caused you pain

I know but all of my words will always below

Of all the love you spoke

He had abandoned Jason, Frank and Hazel and had utterly screwed over Percy three times over. Leo was his only friend and Nico hid all types of shit from him. So, why, exactly, did he call Will?

Because he was the only person to call.

And that was probably the saddest realization Nico had come to in a very long time; and the next thing he knew, he was walking out the door, his vision blurry and a pain in his chest unlike any other. He started wondering to himself why he was like this; he started wondering to himself why he was so screwed up inside.

Oh I'm a mess right now

Inside out

He vaguely registered Will's surprised callings for him but he kept moving, not really feeling his body anymore. He knew he had his fists clenched and he knew that he was biting his tongue because he tasted iron. He knew he needed to stop moving and breathe because he wasn't. He knew he needed to breathe.

'Breathe, Nico, breathe,' he was telling himself but instead it sounded like his mother and then Bianca and then Hazel. He needed to breathe for them because, he realized, they were the ones worth breathing for. And that realization was the best he had had in a very long time and finally he stopped moving, his cheeks pink and wet and Will's hand on his shoulder. They were outside now, about a block away from where they had been and Will looked scared.

"Nico? Nico, are you okay?" he was asking. Nico felt himself nod and then breathed in through his nose and out his mouth. He wiped his face and dipped his shoulder from beneath Will's hand.

"I'm fine. I'm fine," he told him.

Easy baby maybe I'm a liar

But for tonight I wanna' fall in love

Put your faith in my stomach

"What the hell was that?" Will asked him. Nico looked at him and sighed.

"Nothing." Will's face contorted and then grew still, making him look scary and not at all radiant.

"Don't lie to me. You were...your face was so empty and then you were gone. Just like that, you wisped into the shadows. You were shaking so hard and you looked so pale," and then silence. "You looked like Death, Nico," then quieter, "You looked like Death."

Nico stared at Will with wide brown eyes. He started to rethink everything that had transpired in the past 48 hours- the texts, the calls, the flirting-everything. He almost laughed at how quick everything went spiraling downwards. He couldn't even make friends properly. He was too fucked up to and he honestly didn't know why he had thought any different.

And oh I've known it for the longest time

And all of my hopes

All of my own words

Are all over written on the signs

"Just forget about it," Nico told him, turning away from Will.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Nico, wait."

"No," he told him, getting in his face. His chest had started to hurt again and he knew he was getting angry. He needed to calm down. He needed to breathe but those voices were rapidly fading away and the anger was filling his chest, and his stomach, and his brain like liquid. "You don't get to tell me what to do. You don't even know me." Will stepped back, his eyes wide.

"I was just trying to help you."

"Help me?" Nico asked, his pettiness getting the best of him. "And who exactly said I needed your help. I just called you for some coffee and a chat, but what I got instead was pity and leaf water."

"Nico-" Will started.

"No," Nico stopped him. "Just forget this ever happened. Don't even worry about it. And trust me, I'll never call you or text you again."

"Wait, what the-" Nico turned away from him, his face burning and walked stiffly away, not daring to look back.

He found himself at a run down drug store. He barely registered anything his body was doing until he was throwing the crumpled ones at the barely awake cashier and was taking a long hard swig out of a cigarette, his head falling back against the cool brick wall. It wasn't until the third drag that he realized what he was doing.

"Shit," he muttered to himself as he breathed out the smoke. It was getting bad again. Then he thought to himself, 'It always gets bad again.'

Searching for a sweet surrender

But this is not the end

I can't work it out

It always started with the mood swings and then the need to get away from, something, everything, anything, and then the cigarettes. It wouldn't be long until he was itching for a high the size of a capsule and then itching for the high found between someone's legs. Then the thoughts would come in and everything, including breathing, would seem almost unbearable.

His phone shrilled in his pocket and he nearly jumped out of his skin. He answered it without looking at the caller ID.

"Dove diavolo sei?" came a voice-Hazel's voice. The Italian sounded odd on her tongue- he was used to her speaking French, though she still made the language sound pretty as if it was made just to be spoken by her. He remembered back when they had first met, when they were both bad, and how she'd mumble in French and how he'd scream in Italian. They learned off of each other because that's what family does.

"Je suis très désolé, Hazel," he said, the French rolling off his tongue with practiced precision. "I am fine, I swear. I just went out for some fresh air."

"Really? It doesn't sound like you're fine. It sounds like you're having a mental breakdown." How did she know?

"I am not having a mental breakdown. You're being paranoid." He was lying through his teeth.

"I don't really think so considering the last time I woke up with you gone, I didn't see you for four and a half years."

"It's 9am! I was hungover! I went to get some coffee. God, lasciarmi il cazzo da solo!" and he hung up the phone. He took another long drag and breathed it out, closing his eyes. He knew he was going to get hell for that one. Hazel was definitely going to tell Leo and well, Leo- Nico lived with Leo. He mentally kicked himself. He never should have went to that party. And he never should have called Will.

I can't shake this feeling now

We're going through the motions

He threw the cigarette away and pulled out his phone. Leo answered on the second ring.

"Leo."

"How dare you."

"Leo." Nico's voice was quiet.

"No, seriously. You just got her back, you ungrateful-"

"Leo," he whispered and this time Leo stopped. "Leo," Nico said again, his voice shaking.

"Oh no."

"It's getting bad again," he admitted, "it's getting bad."

"Where are you?"

"I don't-"

"Have you been smoking? Is that why you cussed out Hazel? Oh God, where are you?"

"I'm going home."

"What, no! Come back here. Take the train and-"

"I can't be around them, Leo. They don't know. I don't want them to know. I can't just come back in their lives with this mess. I'm a mess."

"You were doing fine. You'll do fine. You need your sister, Nico."

"No, no, no," he started muttering, tears threatening to empty onto his cheeks.

"Nico, you are having a panic attack. What about that kid? What about Will?"

"I told Will to fuck off." He heard Leo sigh through the phone. It was honestly too early in the morning for this shit; it was too early for everything. Leo's voice was calm and slow the next time he spoke. His voice was the way it got when he was trying to hold things together or when he was really upset.

"You have your keys, yeah? Go home, take a shower. I'll be there in an hour. Don't do anything stupid. Drop the cigarette-"

"I'm not-"

"-throw the pack away and listen to some music on your walk back. You're not a mess, Nico. You're not a mess," and the line clicked off. Nico sniffed and balled up his fists, calming himself down. He knew where he was and the walk back to his apartment building would only take ten minutes.

All of a sudden, an overwhelming sense of guilt came over him. He felt terrible. He hated his mental breakdowns and panic attacks because he always hurt someone when they happened. He couldn't control his emotions, then, mainly his anger, and he always refused help because he hated feeling out of control.

I can't work it out

How going through the motions

Searching for a sweet surrender

But this is not the end

'Will,' he thought and kicked himself. Will had only been trying to help and he freaked out on him. Now he knows Will probably hated him. Nico didn't know why he was so upset anyway; it was bound to happen because that's what Nico does. He makes a friend or two and then drives them away. He was too broken for relationships, any relationships, because his shattered soul often times cut the souls most precious to him.

Now, he was crying and shaking and was getting odd looks from the people passing him by. He ran a hand through his hair, wiped his face and headed towards his apartment building, putting in his headphones and sinking into the music.

Oh I'm a mess right now

Inside out

Translations:

Dove diavolo sei- Where the hell are you

Je suis très désolé- I am so sorry

lasciarmi il cazzo da solo- leave me the fuck alone

(P.S. I kinda speak French and my friend speaks Italian so I'm 92% sure these are correct.)

~I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE SONGS USED IN THIS CHAPTER~

~NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED~


	17. Flowers and Wind Chimes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one in which Hazel goes to the roof.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~Hey, it's the Author speaking :) I AM SO SO SO SO SO SORRY ITS BEEN SO LONG OMGGG time just kept passing by and then it was Thanksgiving and then it was freaking mid terms and now it's Christmas. Ugh! But I'm back now with a new chapter :D So thanks for being so so patient with me; you guys are amazeballs. There's no song this chapter cuz I really really wanted to get this up soon and it always takes me like two good days to find the perfect song so... yeah. Leave reviews PLEASE they're so fun to read. Tell me what you think or what you think will happen next or what you want to happen next or any song ideas. I am always down for suggestions. Again, so sorry for the delay and for this hella long note. I'm done now. Also-Merry Christmas, if you're Christian. Happy Hanukkah, if you're Jewish. Happy Kwanzaa, if you're black and celebrate it. And if you're neither of those Happy Two and a Half Weeks Off! Much love xx. Author, out :P~

Nico was in the shower. His clothes were still on but his shoes weren't and his phone was somewhere in the living room. The water was hot and nicely pressured and all Nico could do was cry. His chest hurt and he felt sick. All he wanted to do was forget, even if it were just for a little bit. His clothes were soaked through and were weighing him down and he was curled up on the bottom of the bath tub shaking.

Then he heard Leo come in.

"Nico!" he was calling. He heard the door slam and two sets of foot steps. It didn't take very long for Leo to find him. "Nico," Leo sighed. Nico sat up and stared at him through the glass. He was about to say something when he saw Hazel's face pop in next to Leo's. Immediately, guilt panged his side and he slid to the back wall.

"What is she doing here?" Nico asked, his voice wrecked.

"Nico, she's your sister and you're having a panic attack." Nico shuddered and started to hyperventilate. It felt like the warm air was trying to suffocate him.

"Please, just go away," he told them and resumed crying. He didn't want Hazel to see him like this. He didn't want anyone to see him like this. There was silence for a few moments and then he heard Hazel start to speak.

"Leo, I got this," she told him. Nico saw Leo hesitate for a moment and then leave. She stepped into the bathroom and closed the door. She had changed. She was wearing a T-shirt that was way to big for her and her hair was pulled up into a bun on top of her head. She had on shorts and sandals. "Nico," she told him, stepping forward. Nico shook his head and turned away from her.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. He heard her sigh.

"You don't have to apologize to me, Nico."

"But I do. I'm a horrible brother. I'm a horrible person. I always hurt the people that care for me most. Always. I never should have come back. It's been twelve hours and look at what's already happened." Hazel shook her head and sat on the toilet next to the shower.

"What's wrong with you? she asked. "No, seriously. Bianca died in the winter time. It's summer." Nico shook his head and looked away from her. He didn't want to explain to his sister about his dead sister's birthday. Or how she would have been turning 23. Or how on her birthdays, their mother would always put flowers in their hair and they'd eat cupcakes from Bianca's favorite pastry place.

"It's stupid," he said.

"Stop. You have to tell me what's going on." Nico started crying again.

"How do you do it, Hazel?" He looked at her. "How do you wake up every day and not think about the things that have been taken away from you? How can you not think about Sammy and your mother? How do you-" his voice broke and he stopped talking. Her eyes widened and watered.

"Nico," she started and reached into the shower. She didn't seem to mind the wetness. She grabbed his head and made him look at her in her eyes. "It's okay to hurt. Every day I think about my mother. Every day I think about Sammy. And some days I do cry and sit in the shower and do nothing. But most days, now listen to me Nico, this is important, most days I get out of bed. I embrace the pang of loss and I remind myself that the past is the past. I remind myself that I am not to blame for either of it. For none of it. And that the only thing I can do is try and live. I have to live, Nico, for my mother and for Sammy and for you and for Frank and for Leo. I have to because if I don't, then the monsters have won. Then our father has won."

Nico stared at her for a few moments. Hazel was strong, she always had been. And her talking about her pain made him feel like shit. He often forgot that she too was battling her own demons. He inhaled with a shaky breath.

"Her birthday, it's coming up soon," he said. "She would have been 23. And last night, seeing all of you and saying those things I-" he stopped again. "It's still no excuse."

"Nico, we all said things last night. We were drunk. And no one is judging you. You had to do what you had to do. I mean, Percy Jackson freaking killed his step-dad in order to save his mother." Nico shook his head.

"Not the same thing."

"You were a kid! The only thing either of us knew was how to-" she inhaled sharply. Nico shivered. She hardly ever raised her voice at him. She breathed in through her nose and reached in to cut the water off. Then she got up and grabbed a towel. "Come on, you'll get pneumonia," she told him. He slowly stood up and stepped out the shower, the towel being wrapped around his head and shoulders. Hazel was shorter than him and he had to look down at her, his hair dripping.

"I never meant to say those things," he said to her. "I didn't mean to tell the truth. I…" he trailed off. Hazel shook her head.

"I know. It's hard to come to terms with the things we've done. Trust me; I know. But it's okay. It'll be okay. You're sick, Nico. You know this. Sometimes you aren't rational. Right now, everything seems like it's ending and there won't be a tomorrow but trust me, this isn't like the stories. This is real life. There are no monsters out to get us. There are only the monsters we harbor inside." Nico rubbed the towel over his temple and sighed a shaky breath. He was calming down and the absurdity of his actions was starting to hit him. He could feel the heat rising to his his face out of embarrassment and disgrace. Why was he like this? Why he couldn't he be normal like everyone else?

"Oh, God, Hazel, I'm such a mess," he said. She pursed her lips as she forced him out of the wet clothes he was wearing. He was left only in his boxers, shivering.

"Okay, I am going to take you to your room and tuck you in so you can warm up and rest. Nothing takes more out of you than having a panic attack." She led him to his room and did exactly that.

"Why," he started as she was leaving the room, "why are you doing this? You should be giving me the silent treatment like Piper right now. You shouldn't be saving me." Hazel smiled at him softly.

"Nico, you've been saving me since I was fourteen. Give me the chance to save you for once," and she was gone with a soft click from the door. Nico turned over and fell asleep.

They were singing happy birthday. Everything was bright and was glowing. His sister was smiling down at him; she was wearing a pretty white dress with a dark green bow on it and pale flowers in her hair. Nico could see the bricked buildings of Italy outside his window. If they were in Italy, then that meant…

His mother, wearing a long white dress with dark brown designs on it, came in with a tray of cupcakes from Bianca's favorite pastry place. He was looking up at her as if he were eight years old again.

"Mom?" he asked. He hadn't seen his mother since he was eight, since...he looked around. Everything was perfect. It was barely noon and the weather felt amazing. All of the windows were open and the green curtains were flowing in the wind. Their mother's angel chimes were singing a soft melody.

He looked back at his mother's bright face and brown eyes. She was beautiful. He wanted to remember her face forever. He looked back at his sister who was staring at her mother. He remembered this day. The day that everything changed. It had almost slipped his mind that it happened on Bianca's birthday.

His mother put the cupcakes on the table.

"Happy birthday, Bianca." his mother's voice was so sweet and it brought tears to his eyes.

"Thanks, mom," Bianca was saying as she wrapped her arm around Nico.

"Here, Bianca," Nico was saying as he grabbed a cupcake. "Red velvet, your favorite." His mother smiled down at him and rubbed his hair, the soft petals stuck in it, rubbing his ears. Her hands were so warm. He wanted to tell her to stay there and to never ever leave but the words wouldn't come.

"Oh, mio piccolo angelo," his mother laughed. "Oh!" she said backing away, "I forgot your present in the kitchen. I'll be right back, i miei amori." She blew them a kiss and walked into the kitchen. Bianca hugged Nico as Nico willed himself to call his mother back. But before he could open his mouth, everything turned a fiery orange red in the kitchen and then the flames spread to the living room. The sheer force of the explosion blew Nico and Bianca backwards. His ears suddenly filled with an outrageous ringing and his eyes were clouded with smoke and debris.

Then everything slowed down and Nico opened his eyes. Everything was covered in ash. Next to him was a lone red velvet cupcake, its icing smeared and the cake part smushed. He turned over to see an unconscious Bianca covered in a thin layer of dust and debris, cupcake still in hand. He remembered thinking the red looked odd against the gray paleness and then blacked out to the sight of a lone flower fluttering to the ground and to the sound of the angel wind chimes still singing their melody somewhere in the distance.

Nico woke up with a gasp. Everything was dark and there were tears in his eyes but he felt immensely better. He wiped his face and crawled out of bed, the soft cool air feeling good on his skin. He slipped on some soft black sweatpants and a black t shirt that read "This is the color of my soul" and walked to the living room. Leo was sitting on the floor with his tool belt around his waist and was tinkering with a piece of rusted up metal. He was wearing cargo pants and suspenders with no shirt on and his black curls were braided back.

"Uh..?" Nico started. Leo looked up with a grin.

"I know, I know. It was getting in the way and Hazel, being the helpful love bug she is, braided it for me. She's good with curly hair," he said. Nico nodded once.

"You need a haircut," was his only response.

"Me?" Leo asked. "Look at you. Let Piper get her hands on you and you'll have beads and feathers in that shit in no time." Nico huffed and looked around.

"Where's-"

"The roof."

"She hasn't been here all day, has she?" Leo shook his head.

"Nah. She went back to Percy's and then did whatever a Hazel Levesque does on a Saturday, went to dinner with Frank, and came back maybe an hour ago. How are you?" Nico sighed and then stretched.

"I think I'll be fine. I feel pretty good actually," he admitted. Leo nodded and went back to building whatever he was building. Nico made his way to the door and then stopped. "Leo?" he called out.

"Yeah?"

"...Thank you." Leo nodded and smiled.

"Forget about it, Nico. We all have our days." Nico stared at him for a few moments. Those were the exact words Nico had said to Leo on the many nights Nico dragged him away from a bar and tucked him into bed and washed his puke and alcohol stenched clothes.

"Thank you, Nico," Leo had said many times from inside a toilet bowl.

"Forget about it, Leo. We all have our days," Nico had replied many times with a cool cloth and aspirin in hand. Nico left the apartment with a smile on his face.

Nico found Hazel on the roof just as Leo had said. She was sitting on the edge of the building, her feet dangling in the air and the downtown skyline twinkling in the distance.

"I knew it was only a matter of time before you came up here," she said. Nico swung his legs around and sat down next to her.

"You know me so well." Hazel laughed and shrugged.

"You know, I think Imma have to go to church tomorrow." Nico turned towards her.

"You go to church?" Hazel nodded. "But your mom was a voo-doo witch doctor."

"And your father is the king of Hell," she stated plainly. Nico scoffed.

"He is not the king of Hell. Just the king of a massive drug and human trafficking kingdom solely run on the black market that may or may not control 30% of all foreign political exchanges and about 40% of all American political exchanges." Hazel gave him a look.

"Yeah, but king of Hell is easier to say." Nico laughed.

"You are right about that...but church? Really?" Hazel nodded.

"Yeah, I promised a certain someone that if I ever found you again, I'd go." Nico hummed. "You should come with." Nico shook his head.

"You know I don't do churches. I mean, how can I believe in a God that makes things like our father."

"How can you not believe in a God that makes things like Bianca or your mother? Besides, you and I both know that's not your real reason for dodging every cathedral you see."

"You really think He would forgive me, Hazel?" Hazel shrugged.

"It's not about what I think; it's about what you believe."

"Oh, give me a-"

"I know that was hella cheesy but I'm serious," Hazel laughed. "It's not that bad when you get into the groove of it, honestly." Nico shook his head.

"I think we'd be better off believing in the Greek and Roman gods." Hazel nodded.

"Yeah, you're probably right there. Believing in three old screwy sisters spinning our lives out on a piece of golden thread and then cutting it when they get bored is so much easier to believe than a giant man sitting in the clouds." Nico laughed.

"Hey, anything's possible." They were silent for a few moments; the only thing that could be heard was the hustle and bustle of late night New York City.

"Thank you, Hazel," Nico said. "For everything." Hazel shrugged and put her arm around his shoulders like Bianca had done all those years ago.

"That's what family is for, Nico," she told him. "That's what family is for."

Translations:

mio piccolo angelo- my little angel

i miei amori- my loves


	18. Pass Me By

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one in which Nico apologizes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, it's the Author speaking:) I just wanted to say that I've literally had this chapter up for MONTHS on fanfiction.net and I am so so sorry. Archive is my secondary posting site and I didn't even realize until just now. Yes, I know I'm an idiot. Anyway, enjoy this chapter if you haven't already read it on fanfic. Author, out.

Nico walked through the doors and into the air conditioned room. He looked over and saw Rachel Elizabeth Dare with her feet up on the counter and her hands behind her head.

"Nico DiAngelo," she said with a smirk. Today, she had her art clothes on- a marker stained t-shirt that had the collar ripped off and old jeans with paint splattered across them.

"Rachel Elizabeth Dare," he nodded to her and stopped at her desk. He was early, he knew that, and the sound of the empty hallway was comforting. He grabbed the pen and signed in. Rachel leaned over the counter and stared at Nico, her frizzy hair almost touching his arm. He tried to ignore her but finally he looked up, a dark blush forming on his face and ears. "What?" She smirked at him.

"So," she drew out the word, "how was your weekend? I hear that you got really drunk." Nico blinked at her as his blush grew deeper. He honestly hated Rachel and her all knowing power and her frizzy hair and her ability to make him blush.

"I don't…" he trailed off. "How did you know that?" His voice was a lot higher than it should have been.

"Oh, don't worry, Nico. Your secret is safe with me." She smiled at him. "Anyway, how's Hazel?" Nico looked at her for a few moments.

"Great."

"That's good. I'm happy you and Leo are back. Hopefully, for good this time." She was watching him, her smile gone and her eyes very focused. Nico nodded and scratched the back of his head.

"I-" His sentence was cut off by the door opening. Will walked in, a coffee in hand and his hair in an 'I just rolled out of bed' mess. He was wearing a white tank top and black basketball shorts. He had shades on his face and was listening to music. He looked up at Nico who stared back at him with wide eyes. Nico had been dreading seeing Will all weekend because he knew he had shattered any ways of becoming friends with him by freaking out on him like that. He swallowed.

"Mornin', Will. You look..." Rachel trailed off. "Actually like shit. What's up? I thought you were a morning person." Will didn't even glance at Nico, or at least Nico didn't think he did. His eyes were hidden behind the shades.

"Oh, I am. Just had a rough night. How have you been Rachel?" Rachel smiled at him.

"Great. You know, I was just talking to Nico here about his weekend...Have you met Nico?" Nico glared at her. He knew that she knew that they had met. He didn't know how but Rachel knew everything. Will slid his glasses up to his forehead and turned towards Nico. His eyes were a great blue and despite his demeanor, he still looked as radiant as ever. He studied Nico for a few moments and then turned away shrugging.

"I guess not." Nico's eyes widened and he didn't know how to feel. He cleared his throat and waved at Rachel who just stared at him. He turned away with a huff and went to the stairs.

Octavian was the only one in the dance room. It was barely 8:15. Nico didn't expect anyone to be here, let alone Octavian. Nico went to his wall and slid down it, shuffling off his slides and putting on the busted vans.

"Hey, Neeks," Octavian said, walking towards him. Nico breathed through his nose.

"Do not call me that. What do you want?" he asked him, looking up. Octavian was smiling down on him, his hair spiked up in front and his blue eyes electric. Nico had seen that look many times. It was the look of a crazy Octavian or a mean Octavian. Octavian was like Rachel; he knew everything. But unlike Rachel, Octavian was a demon that enjoyed the downfall of others.

"A little birdy told me that you and Bob the Builder actually made a come back and didn't get killed by Percy Jackson and his friends." Nico blinked at him.

"Why would you care?"

"Oh! I don't. I just thought it was interesting how your little sister and your used-to-be friends welcomed you back with open arms...I'm guessing you haven't told them what you've been doing these past few years." Nico knew he shouldn't have asked. It would only lead to bad things but he couldn't stop himself.

"And what have I been doing these past few years, huh?" Octavian smirked down at him.

"Oh, you know. Whoring yourself out to whoever has the most money and the biggest-" Nico kicked him in the knee and Octavian fell straight down. He grabbed Octavian by the collar and pulled him towards his face, rage and anger surging through him.

"Look, you teddy bear stabbing, lie spitting, poor excuse for a human fucking being. I do not care about you. You do not get to step all over me like that. You don't know me. You think Jason Grace should be feared? You think Reyna Ramirez Arellano should be feared? Well, I am your worst nightmare. I am crazy, Octavian." Nico smiled. "And I am dangerous. My family is dangerous. My father is dangerous. I've been letting it slide because, hey, it's just me, but when you bring in my sister or my roommate or anyone else, I will get nasty. So come at me again-no seriously-I just need one reason, and I. Will. End. You." Nico stared at him, his eyes dark and then shoved Octavian away. Octavian immediately stood up and gasped. He straightened out his shirt and walked back to his things as a few more people started filing in.

Nico sighed as he stood up and started stretching. He knew that that encounter was going to bite him in the butt sooner or later. Octavian was an entitled idiot. He'd be back for blood. Nico slid into a split and ignored the whistles. He ran his hand through his hair and looked around. He saw Will finally walk in, his coffee gone and his shades on top of his head. He looked around and saw no open spaces until he spotted Nico. Nico had most of the wall to himself. Will sighed and started walking towards him. Nico's eyes widened as he rolled out of the stretch and sat criss-cross applesauce. Will sat his bag down next to Nico's and sat down in front of it, changing his shoes and putting up his glasses and headphones. He was extremely quiet. Nico stared at him and opened his mouth to say something.

I never spoke up, yeah, I never said, "Hello,"

But I keep on trying to find a way to meet ya

"Yo, Will!" Octavian was calling. Nico and Will looked up. Octavian was surrounded by his group of "friends" and was motioning for Will to come over. Will looked at Nico and Nico looked away. When he looked up, Will was gone and was laughing at something Octavian had said, Octavian's arm wrapped around Will's waist.

I was chillin', you were with him

Hooked up by the fire

Nico acted like he didn't see. Instead, he slid to the wall and played Words With Friends until Chiron came in.

"Up and at 'em, dancers. It is time to get moving," he told them. In a matter of ten seconds, everyone was standing up and staring at the dance director. "Okay, today starts the, uh, 'try outs.' I have paired each of you with someone and you have all week to prove to me how good a pair and how good of dancers you are. I will be teaching you various routines that may or may not be in the dance. I need you and your partner to tell a story." He smiled at them. "I want to be moved. On Friday, we will do individual pairs and next week, we will start choreographing forreal." Everyone nodded and awaited the pairs.

"Taylor and Michael; Veronica and Suzie; Johanne and Collin; Darryl and Kaitlyn; Florence and Julia; George and Kevin; Paisley and Sarah; Octavian and Simone; Nico and Will…" Nico stopped listening and looked for Will. He was lingering on the edge of the group, no longer by Octavian.

Now he's long gone

I'm like, "So long."

Now I got my chance

Now I, now I got my chance

His blue eyes met Nico's brown ones. Nico gulped. Of course they would have gotten paired together just days after Nico told Will to fuck off. Chiron finished the list and everyone split up into pairs. Nico turned and was hit square in the chest by Octavian's shoulder. He flipped him off and then walked towards Will.

"Hey, Will," Nico started, "I just wanted-" Will cut him off.

"It's fine. It's whatever. I totally get it." Nico shook his head.

"No, I wanted to say that I am sorry. For saying those things to you. They aren't true."

I was tryna play too cool to get caught up

Like, too fun, too young to fall to pieces

Will looked at him, His face was emotionless but there was hurt in his eyes.

"Then why did you say them? I was only trying to-" he stopped. "Look, just forget about it, okay?" Nico opened his mouth.

I know a boy like you can't ever get enough

So I'm addicted, trippin', tryna get you to see this

"Come on dancers, time to learn. I hope, for your sake, that you've stretched," Chiron said. Nico looked at Will and Will looked away. "Alright. The first move is…"

It was three o'clock. Thank, God. Nico was tired and sweaty and starved but it was all good. The dances they had learned were not that bad even though they were challenging. Nico was definitely not used to dancing with a partner but he was starting to like it.

I was solo,

Living YOLO

'Til you blew my mind

Will was a great dancer, better than Nico expected since he had only known him maybe a week. And Nico could tell that Will was a little impressed by him as well.

The way I need you, like I'm see-through

Dancing out my pants

Unfortunately, they hadn't had much time to talk about anything that wasn't the dance because Chiron had kept them busy all day.

"Good job," Nico told Will as they walked back to their bags. Will smiled softly at him and started to change his shoes.

"You, too. I don't know why Chiron partnered me with arguably the best dancer here," he said. Nico fought the blush that came to his cheeks and ears.

Got you shooken, caught you looking

Now I got my chance

Now I, now I got my chance

"Nah, I'm not the best." Will shook his head.

"I don't know. But you're definitely in the top ten." Nico allowed himself to smile and then shrugged. He took of the sticky shirt he was wearing and changed into an old orange group home t shirt he had had lying around. Will did a double take at the shirt and squinted his eyes at Nico. "So that's how you know Chiron," Will said. Nico stared at him.

"Huh?"

"You were at the group home, too?" Will asked. Nico's eyes widened and he slowly nodded. "Yeah, for a little bit. I don't remember you being there." Will smiled.

"Yeah, probably not. It's okay. There were a lot of kids there and I highly doubt that we'd be in the same friend group." Nico blinked at him. "Not that we wouldn't be friends or anything. I just meant…" he trailed off and started blushing. Nico chuckled.

"No, I-I get it," he told him. Will nodded and gathered his things. Nico gathered his things, too. "Hey, Will?" Nico called when they were in the hallway. Will was walking towards Chiron's office. Will turned around and ran a hand through his hair.

"Yeah?"

"Is...is it okay if I text you?" Will blinked at him.

Everywhere I look and everywhere I go

A million other guys keep staring and I know

That I could be yours, and you could be mine

I just can't let you pass me by, by, by

"'Cause I know the other day I said that I would never call or text you again but I am a liar and I am stupid and I really enjoy talking to you so...can I?" He said it all in one breath. Will nodded.

"Yeah. And Nico?"

"Hm?" Will smiled at him.

"I forgive you."

Like damn

You could be the one that could mess me up

~I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE SONGS USED IN THIS CHAPTER~

~NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED~


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